MARGARITA 


MARGARITA 


A  LEGEND  OF  THE  FIGHT  FOR 
THE    GREAT  RIVER 


BY 

ELIZABETH    W.    CHAMPNEY 

AUTHOR  OF   "WITCH   WINNIE,"    "WITCH   W1NNIB 
MYSTERY,"    "PATIENCE,"   ETC. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW   YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  W  COMPANY 
1902 


Copyright.  190* 
by  Donn  MEAD  A  COMPANY 
st  Edition  published 
September.  1901 


THE  CAXTON  PRESS 
NEW  YORK. 


mar 


Contents. 

CHAP.  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION vii 

I.    THE  GREAT  FIRE-OPAL       ...  1 

II.    THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER  .  11 

III.  THE  OPAL  AGAIN        ....  32 

IV.  IN  WHICH  I  AM  SAVED  FROM  SUICIDE 

BY  A  MURDER — NOT  MY  OWN  .       .    49 

V.    IN  WHICH  I  AM  OFFERED  A  KINGDOM,    64 

VI.    WEENONAH 92 

VII.    MARGARITA  .       .       .       .       .       .121 

VIII.    "THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEO- 
PLE"        .       .       .       .       .       .147 

IX.    IN  WHICH  I  VERY  NEARLY  BECOME  A 

TRAITOR   .        .        .        .        .        .162 

X,    TONTY  MAIN  DE  FER  .        .       .        .179 
XI.    TANGLED  THREADS     .       .  .198 

XII.    IN  WHICH  I  TAKE  A  LONGER  JOUR- 
NEY THAN  I  INTENDED    .        .        .  221 

XIII.  A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE       .        .        .  252 

XIV.  OLD  FLAGS  FURLED  .  297 


M667754 


Introduction. 

THE  writer  of  a  historical  romance  must  make 
her  bow  of  recognition  to  many  pioneers  in  her 
chosen  subject. 

"  For  out  of  the  old  fieldea  as  men  saith 

Cometh  all  this  newe  oorne  from  yere  to  yere, 
And  out  of  old  bookes  in  good  faith 
Cometh  all  this  new  science  that  men  lere." 

The  first  and  most  obvious  authority  to  whom 
the  author  is  indebted  is  Parkman,  whose  works 
will  always  remain  a  mine  of  treasure  to  the  stu- 
dent of  American  exploration,  while  Justin  Winsor 
in  his  valuable  work,  "  The  Mississippi  Baisin,"  has 
collated  the  history  of  the  early  discoveries  and 
tabulated  them  with  accurate  dates  by  means  of 
the  maps  of  the  different  periods,  giving  a  new 
vividness  to  the  old  relations. 

Mr.  Adolphe  F.  Bandelier  in  his  valuable  book, 
"The  Gilded  Man,"  a  r6sum6  of  his  discoveries 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Archaeological  Institute 
of  America,  has,  after  exhaustive  exploration  and 
study  of  the  early  Spanish  records,  fixed  the  site  of 

vii 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

the  elusive  Gran  Quivira,  and  supplements  Park- 
man  in  giving  the  final  facts  in  the  life  of  the  rem- 
nant of  the  gang  of  La  Salle's  murderers.  Most 
gratefully  the  writer  acknowledges  as  her  chiof 
creditor  Miss  Grace  King,  whose  admirable  memoir 
of  Bienville  is  a  most  accurate  and  painstaking 
record  of  the  public  life  of  her  hero. 

Two  sources  give  us  the  story  of  the  wanderings 
and  adventures  of  the  erratic  but  fascinating  Jiu  h 
ereau  de  St.  Denis.  Pennicault,  who  was  his  de- 
voted friend,  furnishes  us  in  his  journal  (collection 
of  Pierre  Margry)  with  the  more  flattering  \ 
of  his  character.  Quite  a  different  impression  is  to 
be  gained  from  the  chronicles  of  Padre  Isidro  Felix 
Espinosa  (quoted  by  Hubert  II.  Bancroft  in  his 
k*  History  of  the  North  American  States"),  who 
does  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  he  was  in  the  pay 
of  Spain.  As  the  Spanish  historian  would  natur- 
ally desire  to  paint  St.  Denis  as  black  as  possible,  it 
has  been  the  author's  purpose,  by  comparing  the  two 
accounts,  to  arrive,  if  possible,  at  a  true  portrait  of 
the  man. 

The  tradition  of  the  opal  is  legendary.  The 
statue  of  Weenonah  reproduced  in  the  illustrations 
is  by  the  talented  sculptor  Isabel  Moore  Kim  ball. 

The  legend  of  the  "  Test  of  True  Lovers,"  related 
by  Weenonah  will  be  at  once  recognized  as  bor- 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

rowed  from  Frank  Hamilton  Cushing's  charming 
collection  of  "  Zuni  Folk  Tales." 

A  much  quoted  French  writer  is  said,  whenever 
he  heard  of  a  crime,  to  have  demanded  "  cherchez  la 
femme"  (seek  the  woman).  The  influence  exerted 
upon  the  careers  of  Bienville  and  St.  Denis  by 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  and  Dona  Maria  Mar- 
garita di  Yillesco  is  suggested  in  the  baldest  his- 
torical account,  but  has  never  before  been  traced 
through  a  maze  of  events  as  thrilling  and  roman- 
tic as  ever  formed  the  plot  of  a  sensational  novel. 

If  the  incredulous  reader, — who  finds  St.  Denis' 
wild  journeys  in  search  of  his  beloved,  or  Bienville's 
long  patience  and  heroism — past  all  belief, — will 
kindly  consult  the  sources  of  information  referred 
to  above— the  present  narrative  will  be  verified 
precisely  where  it  seems  most  fanciful. 


Margarita. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    GREAT  FIRE-OPAL. 

I  EVER  in  my  life,  privi- 
leged though  I  had 
been,  had  I  beheld  so 
wonderful  a  gem. 

The  iridescent  play 
of  flashing  red  and 
cool  green  mingled 
and  parted  till  the  jewel 
seemed  a  magic  battle- 
ground between  fire 
and  water, — a  quiet 
moonlit  pool,  whose 

milky  whiteness  was  shot  through  by  reflections  of 
some  fierce  conflagration.  The  opal  was  a  fitting 
emblem  of  the  mingling  and  conflict  of  races  which 
it  typified,  of  the  blood  and  flame  with  which  the 


2  MARGARITA. 

waters  of  the  Great  River  to  whose  possession  it  was 
the  talisman,  would  be  tinged. 

And  to  think  that  I,  Juchereau  de  St.  Denis,  had 
held  in  my  hand  that  stone  of  enchantment,  for 
which  so  many  lives  were  lost  and  so  much  honor 
bartered — that  I  might  have  purchased  for  a  paltry 
sum  that  gem  of  mystery,  the  key  to  the  unknown 
continent,  and  so  have  spared  myself  and  othrrs 
many  desperate  adventures  and  much  heart-ache, 
making  this  long  story  short  indeed.  Ah  !  but  just 
as  surely  I  would  have  missed  the  crowning  joy  of 
my  life !  Such  is  the  blessing  as  well  as  the  bane 
which  comes  to  us  all  through  ignorance. 

I  knew  nothing  of  its  story  or  of  its  power  as  I  ex- 
amined it  that  summer  day  of  16DS  in  Paris,  at  the 
shop  of  my  friend  Colin  on  the  Quai  des  Orfevres 
in  the  cit£,  where  all  the  jewellers  congregated  be- 
fore they  removed  to  the  arcades  which  the  Regent 
afterwards  rented  t<>  them  in  the  court  of  the  Palais 
Royal. 

I  glanced  from  the  jewel  to  its  owner,  a  person- 
ality no  less  remarkable,  in  its  way,  but  as  repulsive 
as  the  gem  was  irresistible.  I  had  lounged  in  to 
look  over  the  trinkets,  and  had  found  my  friend  in 
embarrassment.  He  had  received  a  message  fi "in 
his  Majesty,  Louis  XIV,  bidding  him  bring  certain 
ornaments  for  his  choice,  and  he  was  unwilling  to 


THE  GREAT  FIRE-OPAL.  3 

trust  his  shop  with  any  of  his  apprentices  at  work 
in  the  back  room  ;  so,  for  the  humor  of  the  thing, 
I  had  offered  to  take  his  place  for  the  afternoon, 
and  thus  it  happened  that  I  sat  behind  the  counter 
when  this  ill-favored  customer  appeared. 

"  I  have  not  come  to  rob  you  of  your  jewels,"  he 
said  as  I  reached  for  my  blunderbus  beneath  the 
counter,  "but  to  entrust  you  with  one  far  finer 
than  any  in  your  paltry  shop." 

He  fumbled  amongst  his  tatters  and  laid  the 
marvellous  opal  in  my  hand.  I  contemplated  it  for 
a  time,  struck  dumb  with  astonishment,  and  when 
at  last  I  looked  at  the  owner  I  saw  that  he  was 
smiling  grimly  as  if  he  were  saying  to  himself,  "  I 
thought  you  would  not  turn  me  out." 

But  my  suspicions  returned,  and  I  replied, 
"  Though  you  may  not  intend  to  practice  your  old 
trade  here  I  am  not  so  sure  that  you  have  not  been 
a  thief,  and  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  dispose  of 
stolen  goods  in  Paris." 

The  man's  face  grew  sullen.  "  Give  me  back  my 
property,"  he  demanded.  "  I  did  not  steal  it,  at 
least  not  in  any  civilized  country  where  there  is 
law  to  punish.  It  was  a  talisman  in  the  mouth  of 
an  idol  in  a  temple  of  the  American  savages.  I 
did  not  even  take  it  from  them,  but  from  the  man 
who  robbed  them.  The  stone  is  mine.  There  is 


4  MARGARITA. 

no  law  on  earth  that  can  take  it  from  me.  I 
gone  through  death  in  the  wilderness,  and  worse 
than  death  in  Spain  to  guard  it.  Now  that  I  have 
brought  it  to  market  how  much  am  I  to  have  for 
it?" 

"  I  cannot  answer  that  question  immediately,"  I 
replied.  "  The  jewel,  though  beautiful  in  color,  is 
not  perfect  in  shape.  As  you  see,  it  is  polished  with 
skill  on  one  side,  but  it  is  rough  on  the  other.  It  has 
evidently  been  broken,  and  a  long  fissure  extends 
into  the  heart  of  the  gem.  Still  it  is  a  remarkable 
opal  and  should  bring  a  good  price.  It  will  be  of 
no  use  however  to  offer  it  to  the  King,  for  he  would 
not  purchase  an  imperfect  stone.  You  have  doubt- 
less tried  to  sell  it  in  Spain,  and  had  the  same  expe- 
rience." 

The  man  flashed  into  anger.  "  No  Spaniard  shall 
ever  possess  that  opal,"  he  cried.  "  I  have  suffered 
too  much  at  their  hands.  I  was  captured  in 
America  and  sent  to  Spain,  where  I  served  in  the 
galleys,— six  years  in  the  galleys.  Do  you  know 
what  that  means  ?  No  one  ever  saw  the  opal  dur- 
ing all  the  time  that  I  labored  at  the  oar,  and  no 
Spaniard  shall  ever  see  it." 

"Now  my  friend,"  I  said,  "your  account  will  not 
hold  water.  If,  as  you  pretend,  you  were  six  years 
in  the  galleys,  your  clothing  must  have  been 


THE  GREAT  FIRE-OPAL.  5 

thoroughly  searched.  It  would  have  been  im- 
possible to  conceal  it." 

"I  had  a  pocket  which  they  never  thought  of 
searching,"  he  replied,  tearing  open  his  shirt  and 
showing  me  an  old  scar  below  the  left  breast. 

A  dagger,  aimed  at  his  heart,  had  glanced  upon 
a  rib  and  sheathed  itself  just  beneath  the  skin,  in- 
flicting a  deep  but  harmless  gash  close  to  the  sur- 
face. The  knife  had  been  left  in  the  wound  long 
enough  to  shape  a  narrow  pouch  and  the  skin, 
though  it  had  healed,  had  never  completely  grown 
together.  I  shuddered.  "You  had  a  narrow 
escape  once  upon  a  time." 

He  nodded.  "It  was  just  after  I  came  into 
possession  of  this  jewel,"  he  explained.  "I  was 
treacherously  stabbed  in  the  night  by  a  com- 
panion who  wished  to  rob  me  of  it.  '  English  Jem,' 
we  called  him.  He  had  been  a  freebooter  be- 
fore he  joined  us.  He  was  a  cross-eyed  man  and 
his  aim  was  all  awry.  I  grappled  with  him,  but  he 
escaped  me.  He  ran  away  to  the  Indians,  and  I 
never  saw  him  again,  until  a  month  ago  as  I  passed 
through  Bordeaux.  He  did  not  see  me,  thanks  to 
his  squinting  sight.  That  was  the  second  time 
that  I  was  grateful  for  his  crooked  vision.  It  was 
a  fortunate  wound  as  you  see,  for  it  afforded  me  a 
hiding-place  for  my  treasure. 


6  MARGARITA. 

"There  it  has  been  all  these  years,  its  outline 
plainly  visible  when  I  sat  in  the  galleys  stripped  to 
the  waist ;  but  no  one  suspected  that  the  lump  was 
more  than  a  knotted  muscle.  I  have  hugged  it  by 
day  and  taken  it  out  at  night  to  gloat  over  it.  It 
has  kept  me  alive  through  sufferings  unspeakable 
and  now  it  must  make  my  fortune.  I  will  not  part 
with  it  for  less  than  five  thousand  francs." 

The  man's  language  suggested  some  degree  of 
education,  but  his  face  was  dark  and  evil.  He  was 
a  villain  I  was  sure,  and  deserved  the  hardships 
which  he  had  undergone.  Just  as  this  conclusion 
was  borne  in  upon  my  mind  the  shadow  of  some 
one  on  the  sidewalk  darkened  the  show  window  of 
the  little  shop,  and  my  strange  visitor  hastily 
turned  his  back,  at  the  same  time  glancing  sus- 
piciously over  his  shoulder  at  the  passer,  a  man 
in  the  black  garb  of  a  Jesuit,  who  was  bending 
forward,  apparently  regarding  with  interest  the 
trinkets  displayed  in  the  window.  He  remained 
in  this  attitude  but  an  instant  and  disap- 
peared. 

"  I  have  seen  him  twice  before,"  said  the  owner 
of  the  opal,  uneasily.  "  If  it  were  that  squinting 
pirate  Hieras  I  would  not  be  surprised,  but  why 
should  this  stranger  follow  me  ?  " 

"  You  are  nervous,"  I  replied  ;  "  people  are  pass- 


THE  GREAT  FIRE-OPAL.  7 

ing  continually.  I  am  sorry  that  I  must  trouble  you 
to  come  again  with  your  opal,  for  I  am  not  the 
proprietor  of  this  shop.  He  was  called  away  on 
business  this  morning." 

"  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  so  before  ?  "  the  man 
asked.  "  I  would  never  have  told  you  my  story, 
never  have  exposed  myself  before  that  window  if  I 
had  not  thought  that  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
selling  my  opal." 

I  had  the  money,  but  I  hesitated  foolishly  and 
shook  my  head.  The  man  went  to  the  door  and 
looked  up  and  down  the  arcade  cautiously. 

"Is  there  no  exit  from  this  shop  towards  the 
rear?"  he  asked.  "That  priest  may  be  waiting  to 
track  me." 

"  You  are  no  longer  in  a  barbarous  country,"  I 
replied,  but  the  man  refused  to  be  reassured,  and 
accepting  my  receipt  for  the  opal  he  left  it  in  my 
care  and  passed  out  through  the  workroom  into 
the  tangle  of  alleys  at  the  rear  of  the  shop  which 
led  to  the  Sainte  Chapelle. 

Colin  returned  an  hour  later  and  was  much  in- 
terested in  the  gem.  "  If  it  had  only  not  been 
broken,"  he  lamented.  "  I  have  never  seen  an  opal 
of  this  size.  Those  from  Persia  are  much  smaller. 
But  it  must  be  cut  down,  and  that  flaw  in  its  heart 
will  cause  it  to  cleave  in  the  polishing.  Still  I 


8  MARGARITA. 

could  make  two  gems  of  it,  each  worth  nearly  what 
he  asked." 

He  locked  the  jewel  in  his  strong-box,  but  he  had 
hardly  done  so  when  the  latch  of  the  door  was 
lifted  noiselessly  and  the  Jesuit  entered. 

He  looked  about  keenly,  with  something  of  sur- 
prise and  disappointment,  as  I  thought,  and  it  may 
be  he  noticed  a  gleam  of  suspicion  in  my  face,  and 
thought  that  he  might  disarm  it  by  frankness. 

"  I  passed  your  window  this  afternoon,"  he  said 
blandly,  "and  my  attention  was  attracted  by  a 
fine  jewel  which  this  gentleman  was  showing  a 
customer." 

"  It  was  not  a  purchaser,"  replied  Colin,  "  but  the 
owner,  who  wishes  to  dispose  of  it." 

"  Indeed,  and  may  I  see  the  gem  ?  " 

Colin  laid  it  before  him,  and  the  Jesuit's  eyes 
kindled  as  it  were  with  sympathetic  tire.  "  What 
is  its  price  ?  "  he  asked  in  a  shaking  voice. 

"  As  it  is,  or  polished  ?  " 

"  As  it  is.  A  priest  does  not  luxuriate  in  jewels. 
I  wish  to  obtain  it  as  a  rare  mineralogical  specimen 
for  the  museum  of  the  Escurial." 

"  In  that  case,"  said  Colin,  "you  may  have  it  for 
eight  thousand  francs." 

"  Agreed,"  replied  the  other,  his  voice  trembling 
with  excitement.  "  I  have  not  the  entire  amount 


THE  GREAT  FIRE-OPAL.  9 

with  me,  but  enough  to  clinch  the  bargain ; "  and 
he  laid  a  roll  of  louis  d'or  beside  the  opal.  "  Give 
me  a  scratch  of  your  pen  as  proof  of  the  purchase, 
and  I  will  return  to-morrow  with  the  balance  and 
take  the  opal." 

"  Pardon  me,"  I  interrupted,  "  but  am  I  mistaken 
in  the  impression  that  I  have  seen  you  before? 
No,  I  have  it  now,  'twas  at  St.  Cyr,  the  school 
which  Madame  de  Maintenon  has  founded  for 
noble  young  ladies.  I  was  invited  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  Esther,  by  one  of  the  pensionats" 
This  was  an  unusual  privilege,  and  I  was  rather 
proud  of  it,  but  the  circumstance  did  not  impress 
the  Jesuit. 

"  Possibly,"  he  replied  indifferently.  "  I  have  the 
honor  to  give  lessons  in  Spanish  to  the  pupils  of 
St.  Cyr.  I  came  from  Spain  in  the  suite  of  the  late 
Queen.  I  am  Fra  Luis  di  Riola." 

u  Then  I  regret  to  say,"  I  explained,  "  that  it  will 
be  impossible  for  you  to  obtain  possession  of  the 
gem,  for  its  owner  expressly  stipulated  that  it  must 
not  be  sold  to  a  Spaniard." 

The  Jesuit  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "Where 
does  the  man  reside?"  he  asked.  "A  personal 
interview  might  change  that  determination." 

"  He  did  not  leave  his  address,"  I  replied. 

Fra    Luis    bowed,    relinquishing    the    opal,    or 


10  MARGARITA. 

quickly  changing  his  scheme  for  acquiring  it,  and 
\v«  left  the  shop  together.  We  separated  at  the 
door,  walking  in  opposite  directions,  the  Jesuit 
pausing  for  an  instant  before  the  window,  his  skill 
shaped  hat  silhouetted  against  its  brightness.  A 
moment  later  be  disappeared  and  a  man  darting 
from  a  doorway  would  have  hurtled  against  me  but 
that  I  saw  him  coming,  and  drawing  my  sw<>i<l 
stood  upon  my  defense.  lie  stopped  just  out  of 
my  reach,  and  cringing  begged  my  pardon. 

"We  are  both  mistaken,  noble  sir,"  be  cried; 
"you  think  me  a  footpad,  and  I  took  you  for  an 
old  acquaintance." 

"Then  show  me  what  you  are  holding  behind 
your  back,"  I  commanded.  "If  I  mistake  not  it  is 
a  heavy  cudgel,  hardly  the  greeting  for  an  old 
fri.-nd  as  it  seems  to  me." 

"I  said  acquaints  .  n..t  frimd,"  n-plicd  the 
other,  and  Colin,  opening  the  door  of  his  shop,  a 
flood  of  light  illumined  the  man's  face.  With  my 
sword  at  guard  I  retreated  backwards  into  that 
refuge  with  more  than  my  usual  celerity,  for  the 
man  was  cross-eyed,  and  was  leering  horribly. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE   SEARCH   FOR  THE   GREAT   RIVER. 

Sur  cette  terre  encor  sauvage 

Lea  vieux  Hires  sont  inconnus. 
La  noblesse  est  dans  le  courage, 

Dans  les  talents,  dans  les  vertus. l 

— Anon. 

DID  not  leave  the  shop 
again  until  Colin  was 
ready  to  close,  when, 
escorted  by  the  two 
apprentices,  who  car- 
ried lanterns  and 
staves,  we  marched, 
with  a  show  of 
bravado,  across  the 
Pont  au  Change  to 
my  lodgings  on  the 
right  bank  of  the 
Seine.  I  am  no  coward,  and  will  meet  any  man  in  a 

1  Rudely  translated, 

In  that  land  so  wild  and  free 

Ancient  titles  are  unknown. 
Deeds  of  true  nobility, 
Mark  the  nobleman  alone. 
11 


12  MARGARITA. 

fair  fight,  but  I  have  no  liking  for  dagger  thrusts  in 
dark  arcades,  for  even  a  cross-eyed  assassin  does 
not  always  miss  his  aim. 

The  next  morning  the  adventure  had  a  more  hu- 
morous light,  but  I  related  it  to  no  one,  for  I  was  a 
little  ashamed  of  my  pusillanimity,  and  wished  that 
I  had  grappled  with  the  scoundrel.  With  Colin's 
help  I  could  surely  have  overcome  him  and  de- 
livered him  up  to  the  law.  I  was  to  wish  with  all 
my  soul  that  I  had  done  so,  in  the  light  of  later  devel- 
opments, but  for  the  moment  other  matters  put  the 
incident  out  of  ray  mind. 

I  was  bidden  for  that  day  by  the  Princess 
of  Conti,  the  favorite  daughter  of  Louis  XIV,  to  a 
garden-party  at  Chantilly,  and  I  was  asked  to  bring 
with  me  my  kinsmen,  the  two  Le  Moyncs. 

It  was  a  golden  opportunity,  for  the  brothers  just 
arrived  from  our  colony  in  Canada,  and  the  more  de- 
sirable in  that  they  had  need  of  influence  for  the 
forwarding  of  the  enterprise  on  which  they  had 
come  to  France.  Of  Le  Moyne  d'lbervillc,  the 
elder,  Frontenac  had  well  said  that  he  was  "as  mili- 
tary as  his  sword  and  as  used  to  water  as  his 
canoe  "  ;  but  though  the  leader  in  all  other  things, 
he  always  ran  away  from  a  social  function. 

"I  would  rather  face  the  guns  of  an  English 
frigate,"  he  had  said  to  me,  "  or  the  cutlasses  of  a 


ROBERT,    CAVALIER    1>E    LA    8ALLE 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.     13 

band  of  Spanish  pirates  than  run  the  gauntlet  of  a 
pack  of  fine  ladies.  "Take  Bienville,  he  is  hand- 
some and  quick-witted  enough  to  please  the  women ; 
and  a  boy  of  nineteen  should  enjoy  such  vanities 
more  than  a  rough  soldier  like  myself." 

He. spoke  truly,  for  it  was  always  a  matter  of 
wonder  to  me  that  young  Jean  Baptiste  Le  Moyne, 
sieur  of  the  seigneury  of  Bienville,  (which  was 
only  a  great  tract  of  land  in  the  Canadian  wilder- 
ness) should  have  fallen  as  naturally  into  the  man- 
ners of  our  noblesse  as  though  he  had  been  brought 
up  amongst  us.  When  I  intimated  something  of  my 
surprise  the  lad's  eyes  flashed  angrily.  "  You  for- 
get," he  said  haughtily, "  that  on  the  death  of  my  par- 
ents I  was  brought  up  by  my  oldest  brother,  Charles, 
Baron  of  Longueuil,  in  his  castle  near  Montreal,  and 
that  my  brother  received  his  education  here  in 
France,  serving  in  the  campaign  in  Flanders.  My 
ton  brothers  are  all  lords  of  great  estates,  and  have 
served  their  country  by  land  and  sea.  There  is  no 
family  in  Canada  can  show  a  more  honorable 
record,  no,  nor  in  France  neither."  (See  Note  1.) 

I  knew  that  this  was  no  idle  boast,  and  I  soothed 
his  ruffled  pride,  saying  that  not  only  were  the  ex- 
ploits of  his  brother  d'Iberville  as  courreur  de  "boia 
and  courreur  de  mer  famous  in  France,  but  that  we 
all  knew  how  he  himself,  though  a  mere  boy,  had 


14 

sailed  with  d'Iberville  on  bis  expedition  against  the 
English  on  Hudson  Bay,  and  that  Mademoiselle 
Rosalie  de  Cadillac  had  confided  to  mr  that  she  \\  as 
going  to  the  garden-party  for  no  other  reason  than 
to  meet  him. 

"Cadillac,"  he  repeated  thoughtfully,  "is  she 
a  relative  of  La  Mott  Cadillac,  that  pompous 
old  wind-bag  who  is  Governor  at  the  De- 
troit ?  " 

"  She  would  hardly  be  pleased  with  the  way  you 
put  your  question,"  I  replied,  "for  she  worships  hrr 
father.  He  brought  her  back  on  the  death  of  her 
mother  three  years  since,  to  be  educated  in  France. 
She  is  at  school  at  St  Cyr;  but  being  un<l<r  tli<> 
special  guardianship  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Conti  is  often  at  Chantilly."  Bienvillc's  dark  cheek 
glowed  with  pleasure.  He  was  not  vainglorious, 
but  he  keenly  enjoyed  appreciation  and  craved  I 
pathy.  He  was  at  the  romantic  age  when  no  feat 
of  war,  no  chivalric  quest  seems  too  long  or  t<  •«,  diffi- 
cult if  only  one  may  dedicate  his  labors  to  the  lady 
of  his  heart. 

Such  an  ideal  had  floated  vaguely  in  his  dreams, 
but  all  unwittingly  he  was  to  meet  her  this  a 
noon  at  Chantilly.     The  gardens  of  this  beautiful 
chateau    had   been  recently  reconstructed   by  Le 
Notre,  the  celebrated  landscape  architect  of  Ver- 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.    15 

sallies,  and  its  parterres  of  brilliant  flowers  and 
magnificent  waterways  rivalled  those  of  the  King 
in  everything  but  extent. 

The  Princess  of  Conti  received  us  on  the  terrace, 
where  chairs  had  been  placed  and  a  table  spread 
for  the  collation,  among  glistening  fountains  and 
marble  statues.  But  indeed  we  had  no  eyes  for  the 
beauty  of  the  garden,  for  the  Princess  of  Conti  is 
one  of  the  most  radiant  women  of  the  court,  inherit- 
ing as  she  does  the  fatal  charm  of  her  mother  the 
unhappy  La  Valltere.  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac 
was  assisting  her  with  the  teacups  and  I  went  to 
them  at  once. 

"  So  you  have  not  fulfilled  your  promise  to  act  as 
bear-leader,"  said  the  Princess  playfully.  "It  is  a 
pity  that  you  could  not  induce  your  wild  animals  to 
leave  their  lairs.  We  had  looked  forward  to  much 
amusement  from  their  antics." 

I  told  her  that  I  regretted  exceedingly  that 
d'Iberville  could  not  come,  but  that  I  had  at  least 
half  made  good  my  word  since  I  had  brought  Bien- 
ville,  with  whom  the  Prince  de  Conti  was  then 
speaking.  The  Princess  made  a  little  grimace  of 
incredulity.  "It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  impose 
upon  us,"  she  said,  "  by  palming  off  yon  fine  gallant 
of  the  court  as  ar  Canadian,  for  he  has  not  the  air 
of  a  semi-savage." 


16  MARGARITA. 

It  was  spoken  all  in  jest,  but  Mademoiselle  de 
Cadillac  took  fire  at  once. 

"  You  forget,  Madame,"  she  said,  "  that  I  am  also 
a  Canadian.  We  are  not  all  wild  beasts  and  In- 
dians, and  it  is  not  necessary  for  a  man  to  wear  his 
blanket-suit  to  court  to  prove  that  he  has  been  a 
hero." 

"A  hero,  indeed!"  the  Princess  repeated. 
41  What  fine  deeds  has  that  stripling  performed  ?  " 

"  Have  you  not  heard,  Madame  ?  "  the  young  girl 
asked.  "  Then  let  the  prince  tell  you  how  he  went 
with  his  brother  at  Frontenac's  command  to  dis- 
lodge the  English  from  their  fort  on  Hudson  Bay, 
how  they  fought  the  ice-bergs  for  weeks,  and 
though  outnumbered  three  to  one,  sunk,  captured 
or  put  to  flight  all  the  ships  of  the  English  fleet ; 
and  how  after  being  shipwrecked  by  a  tempest  they 
struggled  on  foot  through  the  snows  to  the  English 
fort  and  took  it  by  assault.  Tell  me,  your  High- 
ness, was  not  that  the  most  heroic  feat  of  these 
modem  times  ?  " 

Mademoiselle  had  spoken  in  a  low  tone  but  so 
distinctly  and  intensely  that  every  wnnl  had  been 
heard  by  Bienville  and  also  by  the  Prince  de 
Conti,  who  now  applauded  noisily.  "  May  I  have 
as  fair  a  herald  to  trumpet  my  fame  if  I  ever  equal 
your  exploits,  Monsieur  de  Bienville,"  he  said  as  he 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.     11 

presented  the  young  man  to  the  Princess  and  to  his 
apologist.  I  do  not  know  which  was  the  more  em- 
barrassed. The  Princess  too  was  a  little  taken 
aback,  but  she  recovered  herself  before  the  two 
young  people. 

"  You  see  I  could  not  believe  that  so  elegant  a 
young  courtier  could  have  performed  all  these 
famous  deeds,"  she  explained  very  prettily.  "  You 
should  thank  me  for  my  doubt  since  the  challenge 
has  brought  out  such  a  tribute." 

But  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  was  greatly  dis- 
pleased with  herself.  She  had  shown  her  admira- 
tion of  Bienville  far  too  plainly.  She  could  not 
endure  the  thought  that  he  was  possibly  inwardly 
laughing  at  her,  thinking  with  a  man's  egotism, 
that  she  was  in  love  with  him,  when  his  personality 
was  of  no  importance  to  her.  It  was  only  because 
the  Princess  had  disparaged  Canada  that  she  had 
spoken  in  his  behalf.  She  was  inexpressibly  morti- 
fied that  he  had  heard  her  panegyric,  and  she 
determined  to  show  him  how  complete  was  her 
indifference  and  to  extinguish  any  spark  of  conceit 
which  she  might  have  kindled. 

"  You  have  seen  little  of  our  colonists,  Madame," 
she  said  haughtily,  "  if  you  imagine  that  Monsieur 
de  Bienville  is  at  all  remarkable.  I  met  at  the 
court  of  Governor  Frontenac  and  even  at  the  Detroit 


18  MARGARITA. 

many  a  young  gentleman  of  as  worthy  a  record, 
and  of  quite  as  distinguished  appearance  — 

44  Then  you  are  indeed  the  daughter  of  Monsieur 
de  la  Mott  Cadillac,"  Bienville  cried  joyfully. 
44  We  have  met  before,  Mademoiselle.  Do  you  not 
remember,  as  you  came  down  the  lakes  on  your 
way  to  France  you  were  my  brother's  guest  at  his 
chateau  of  Longueuil  ?  " 

44 1  remember  the  chateau  well,  but  I  have  no 
memory  of  you,  Monsieur." 

44  That  is  not  strange,  Mademoiselle,  for  I  was 
but  a  cub  of  a  boy ;  and  now  I  know  why  you  had 
no  eyes  for  any  one  else.  Tonty  was  there  on  his 
way  to  the  Illinois.  You  remember  him,  Mademoi- 
selle?" 

44  Surely,"  she  replied,  44  he  is  a  man  once  seen 
could  never  be  forgotten.  I  am  proud  when  I 
think  that  I  have  met  that  great  man,  and  : 
child  as  I  was,  he  could  stoop  to  soothe  my  fright 
and  wipe  away  my  tears.  I  was  at  play  with  some 
children  in  the  great  farmyard  of  the  chateau, 
when  I  was  chased  by  a  huge  turkey.  I  bad  never 
seen  so  frightful  a  creature,  and  I  took  refuge  on  a 
small  haystack  in  the  centre  of  the  court.  To  add 
to  my  trouble  an  ill-mannered  boy  laughed  at  my 
predicament,  and  let  loose  all  the  geese  and  fowls 
in  the  poultry  yard,  who,  encouraged  by  this 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.     19 

persecutor,  surrounded  my  refuge  with  gabbling 
and  hissing.  There  I  sat  in  mortal  terror,  until 
Tonty  rode  into  the  stable-yard  and  carried  me  in 
his  arms  to  the  house,  at  the  same  time  reprimand- 
ing sharply  the  little  brigand." 

"Then  you  do  remember  me,"  cried  Bienville, 
"  for  I  was  that  altogether  abominable  boy." 

After  we  had  ceased  laughing  the  Prince  de 
Conti  had  the  word.  "  I  knew  your  brother  when 
he  was  in  France,"  he  said.  "When  the  Baron  de 
Longueuil  was  in  Paris  he  captivated  every  one. 
How  the  Duchess  of  Orleans  used  to  rave  about 
him,  and  his  Indian  valet.  But  of  all  the  Canadians 
I  have  known  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  was  the  most 
truly  noble.  Henri  de  Tonty  whom  I  introduced 
to  him,  fell  in  love  with  him  on  the  instant,  and 
went  with  him  to  Canada.  Please  God  he  has  not 
shared  the  fate  of  La  Salle,  who  was  murdered  not 
far  from  the  river  he  was  so  wild  to  discover.  Tell 
us,  Monsieur  de  Bienville,  is  my  friend  Henri  de 
Tonty  safe?  Does  he  still  hold  his  fort  of  St. 
Louis  in  the  wilds  of  the  Illinois?" 

"  No  word  has  come  to  us  from  Tonty,  for  over  a 
year,"  Bienville  replied,  "  but  my  brother  believes 
that  Tonty  is  a  man  who  cannot  be  killed.  He 
has  passed  through  so  many  dangers  that  he  seems 
to  bear  a  charmed  life.  Still,  his  friends  in  Canada 


20  MARGARITA. 

are  very  anxious,  and  it  is  the  desire  to  find  and 
succor  Tonty  which  makes  my  brother  and  my  si -If 
especially  impatient  to  be  sent  on  this  expedition 
to  the  Mississippi.  I  pray  with  all  my  heart  that 
we  may  not  be  too  late,  and  that  your  friend  and 
ours  will  one  day  return  to  France  that  the 
Princess  of  Conti  may  meet  the  first  gentleman  of 
the  Colony." 

"Tell  us  of  your  hero,"  said  the  Princess, 
kindly. 

"  Yes,  tell  us  all  you  can  of  Tonty,"  reiterated  the 
Prince,  adding  less  tactfully,  "  but  you  have  chosen 
your  typical  Canadian  unfortunately,  for  Henri  de 
Tonty  is  not  a  native  backwoodsman.  He  is  Italian 
born,  and  bred  up  in  the  highest  European  civiliza- 
tion. His  father,  who  had  been  Governor  of  Gaeta, 
opened  a  banking  house  here  in  Paris,  where  he  in- 
vented a  system  of  life  insurance  which  made  hi  in 
wealthy.  Henri  did  not  care  for  finance  but  served 
very  gallantly  as  a  soldier  in  the  Italian  Wars.  His 
right  hand  was  blown  off  by  a  grenade  at  Messina, 
but  an  iron  gauntlet  was  fitted  over  the  maimed 
member,  and  he  dealt  such  blows  with  it  that  the 
name  Tonty — Main  d*  fer  clung  to  him  before  he 
went  out  to  Canada." 

"  Tonty  of  the  Iron  Hand  is  his  name  with  us," 
Bienville  replied.  "When  the  miserable  wretch 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.    21 

Jolycoeur  attempted  to  poison  La  Salle  by  sprin- 
kling a  salad  with  verdigris,  a  blow  from  that  same 
gauntlet  loosened  his  teeth,  and  would  have  been 
followed  by  another  which  would  have  done  him  a 
still  greater  mischief  if  La  Salle's  magnanimity  had 
not  protected  the  would-be  assassin.  The  Indians 
think  that  Tonty  is  half  iron,  a  demi-god,  and  they 
speak  of  the  Medicine  Hand  with  great  veneration. 
"  As  a  child  I  have  often  listened  with  eyes  wide 
with  wonder  to  Tonty's  stories  of  La  Salle's  won- 
derful exploits,  for  Tonty  worshipped  La  Salle  just 
as  I  adore  Tonty,  and  as  no  one  will  ever  care  for 
me.  A  chain  of  such  devotion  could  never  have 
more  than  three  links. 

"  La  Salle's  seigneury  of  La  Chine  was  near  our 
own,  and  we  were  fond  of  our  neighbor.  Many 
thought  him  a  monomaniac  because  the  exploration 
of  the  Mississippi  had  become  for  him  a  fixed  idea, 
and  because  he  sacrificed  all  his  opportunities  for 
trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  upper  lakes  for  the 
sake  of  this  will-o'-the-wisp.  But  he  had  friends 
who  believed  in  him,  and  none  stancher  than 
Tonty.  It  was  Tonty  who  made  us  understand 
La  Salle's  greatness  of  soul.  How  he  had  no  time 
for  acquiring  wealth,  but  must  pursue  his  grand 
purpose  to  secure  for  France  the  valley  of  the  great 
river,  the  highway  to  the  vast  west,  and  the  outlet 


22  MARGARITA. 

for  the  fur  trade,  before  it  was  seized  upon  by  the 
encroaching  Spaniards  and  English/' 

"I  do  not  understand,"  said  the  Princess  of 
Conti,  "  how  La  Salle  knew  of  the  existence  of  thr 
river  if  he  was  in  truth  its  discoverer." 

"The  missionary  Father  Marquette  had  in<l 
come  upon  the  Mississippi  by  accident  in  his 
journey  to  convert  the  Illinois,"  said  Bicnville, 
44  but  he  imagined  that  it  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of 
California  and  had  no  idea  that  it  was  the  same 
river  that  the  Spaniard  De  Soto  had  found  on  his 
march  from  Florida.  It  was  the  report  of  Father 
Marquette's  discovery  which  fired  La  Salle's  imagi- 
nation, and  fixed  his  determination  to  know  the 
whole  truth  about  this  mysterious  river.  People 
called  him  insane,  and  if  to  pursue  one  idea  in  the 
teeth  of  all  hardship,  discouragement  and  peril, 
finally  turning  defeat  into  victory  and  achieving 
the  impossible  is  madness,  then  La  Salle's  brain 
was  turned  with  that  divine  frenzy.  In  the  spring 
of  1678  he  started  with  Tonty  and  a  picked  band  <>f 
hardy  woodsmen,  following  the  track  of  Marquette 
and  reaching  the  settlement  of  the  Illinois  on  the 
Mississippi  in  December.  Here  La  Salle  established 
the  greater  part  of  the  men,  obtaining  permission 
from  the  Indians  for  them  to  construct  a  fort  in 
which  to  winter,  and  a  sloop  in  which  to  descend 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  ORE  AT  RIVER.     23 

the  river  in  the  spring.  As  they  had  no  anchor, 
cordage  or  sail  cloth,  and  other  supplies  would  be 
needed,  La  Salle  left  Tonty  in  command,  and  re- 
turned to  Quebec  for  these  necessities. 

"  Ho  had  obtained  them  and  was  at  Fort  Fron- 
tenac  on  Lake  Ontario,  on  his  way  back  to  the 
Illinois,  when  he  was  met  by  two  messengers  from 
Tonty,  bringing  news  that  nearly  all  his  men  had 
deserted  him  after  destroying  the  new  Fort  Creve- 
coeur,  while  he  was  absent  on  a  short  excursion. 
These  messengers  had  travelled  so  swiftly  that  they 
had  passed  the  deserters,  who  were  on  their  way 
down  the  lakes  in  three  canoes,  and  had  boasted  at 
Michillimackinac  that  they  intended  to  surprise  and 
loot  Fort  Frontenac.  La  Salle  went  out  to  meet 
the  deserters  with  a  few  resolute  followers,  captured 
them  and  left  them  in  prison  to  await  the  sentence 
of  the  Governor;  after  which  exploit  he  set  out  with 
twenty-five  men  for  the  rescue  of  his  friend. 

"At  Michillimackinac  he  heard  that  the  Iroquois 
were  at  war  with  the  Illinois  and  that  it  would  bo 
almost  certain  death  to  continue  his  journey.  Only 
seven  of  his  men  would  consent  to  do  so,  but  with 
these  he  pushed  on  with  still  greater  determination. 
Arrived  at  the  Mississippi  he  found  the  village  of 
the  Illinois  burned  to  the  ground,  ghastly  skulls 
fastened  to  poles  testifying  to  the  terrible  visit  of 


24  MARGARITA. 

the  Iroquois.  At  Fort  Crevecoeur  too  all  was  deso- 
lation, and  no  indication  of  what  had  become  of 
Tonty  and  the  three  faithful  men  who  had  re- 
mained with  him.  There  were  signs,  however,  that 
told  that  the  Illinois  had  fled  southward  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  while  the  Iroquois  had  fol- 
lowed on  the  east.  For  ten  days  the  fugitives  had 
fled  and  the  invading  army  had  followed,  camping 
each  night  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river.  On  the 
tenth  day  the  Iroquois  had  crossed  and  had  massa- 
cred their  victims.  Charred  bodies  half  con- 
sumed still  hung  to  the  stakes  where  they  had 
been  tortured  to  death,  wolves  slunk  away  and 
birds  of  prey  flapped  a  short  distance  as  La 
Salle  approached.  There  was  nothing  to  assure 
him  that  Tonty  had  not  met  his  death  here,  for 
there  was  no  trail  leading  further  south  <>r  west. 
The  Iroquois  had  surrounded  tlu-ir  victims  and  the 
tragedy  had  apparently  been  complete.  It  was 
winter  now  and,  leaving  a  letter  to  Tonty  fastened 
to  a  tree,  La  Salle  sorrowfully  returned  to  Michilli- 
mackinac." 

"Hut  what  had  become  of  Tonty?"  Mademoi- 
selle de  Cadillac  asked,  eagerly.  -  Was  he  a  prisoner 
among  the  Iroquois  ?  " 

"That  was  La  Salle's  supposition—either  killed 
or  a  prisoner— but  more  surprising  adventures  had 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.     25 

befallen  him.  Shortly  after  La  Salle  had  left  him 
he  had  set  out  with  three  men  to  examine  a  re- 
markable rock  further  north  which  towered  like  a 
natural  citadel  straight  from  the  river.  He  decided 
that  it  would  be  easy  to  fortify  and  to  hold,  a  much 
better  site  for  a  fortress  than  Crevecoeur,  and  later 
on  La  Salle  did  establish  a  fort  here.  Returning 
from  this  short  exploring  expedition  Tonty  found 
that  all  of  his  men  but  two  had  deserted  him.  It 
was  then  that  he  sent  them  with  his  message  to  La 
Salle  and  with  his  three  remaining  men  settled  in 
the  Indian  village.  He  was  there  when  the  Iro- 
quois  fell  upon  the  Illinois  and  had  endeavored 
with  apparent  success  to  make  peace  between  them. 
The  Illinois  fled  during  the  night,  distrusting  the 
promises  of  their  foes,  and  the  Iroquois  chiefs  bade 
Tonty  and  his  Frenchmen  be  gone.  He  could  do 
nothing  further  for  the  Illinois,  whom  he  hoped 
would  escape,  and  with  his  men  he  ascended  the 
river  in  a  canoe  endeavoring  to  make  his  way  to 
Michillimackinac.  It  was  a  desperate  undertaking, 
but  when  almost  starving  they  came  upon  a  village 
of  friendly  Indians  with  whom  they  wintered,  and 
in  the  spring,  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man,  they 
struggled  into  Michillimackinac,  where  Tonty  and 
La  Salle  fell  into  one  another's  arms." 

The  ladies  clapped  their  hands,  applauding  Bien- 


26  MARGARITA. 

ville's    enthusiasm    as    much    as   the  exploits  he 
related. 

"And  then,"  said  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac,  "La 
Salle  came  to  France,  and  the  King  sent  him  out 
with  a  fleet  to  plant  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the 
great  river  which  he  had  explored  ?" 

"Not  so  fast,  not  so  fast  tin    Prince  de 

Conti ;  "  La  Salle  bad  as  yet  no  certain  knowledge 
that  the  Mississippi  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  There  was  much  for  him  still  to  do. 
One  would  have  thought  that  both  he  and  Tonty 
had  had  enough  of  exploration,  but  these  adv.  n 
tures  only  whetted  their  apprtito  for  more.  Go  on, 
Monsieur  de  Bienville.  It  seems  to  me  that  I  see 
again  my  old  friend  La  Salle,  a  man  of  iron  <1< 
termination,  reserved,  stern,  a  rigid  disciplinarian, 
who  never  spared  his  men  any  more  than  he  spa  ml 
himsHf,  who  made  many  enemies  and  few  friend  , 
but  thosi'  frit-mis  like  Tonty  were  ready  to  lay 
down  their  lives  for  him." 

44  Yes,    Tonty,   tell    us  more   of    Tonty,"  < 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac. 

De  Rienville's  expression  softened.  "You  share 
my  admiration  already.  Mademoiselle?  When  you 
know  him  you  will  reproach  me  for  not  praising  him 
enough.  The  following  year  La  Salle  gathered  a 
new  expedition  and  set  out  again,  following  the 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.    27 

same  course.  This  time  he  was  completely  success- 
ful. He  descended  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth  and 
erected  a  pillar  bearing  the  arms  of  France,  and 
having  taken  formal  possession  of  the  river  and  all 
its  tributaries  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  France — 
and  named  the  country  Louisiana,  he  buried  the 
act  of  possession  at  the  foot  of  the  column,  and  be- 
gan his  homeward  journey.  He  reached  Michilli- 
mackinac  in  September,  1682,  having  accomplished 
the  great  aim  of  his  life,  the  exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  from  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico. 

"  It  remained  now  to  hold  what  he  had  claimed, 
and  he  laid  out  Fort  St.  Louis  on  the  cliff  which 
Tonty  had  chosen,  and  established  Tonty  here 
with  twenty  Frenchmen,  to  hold  it  as  depot  for 
the  trade  in  buffalo  skins,  and  a  bulwark  against 
the  encroachment  of  the  English.  It  has  become  a 
great  trading  post.  The  Indians  of  many  tribes 
have  been  assigned  reservations  for  their  villages 
at  its  foot.  Not  infrequently  twenty  thousand  are 
to  be  found  encamped  in  its  vicinity.  Tonty  is  so 
tactful  and  honorable  in  his  dealings  with  them 
that  these  savages  are  all  allies  of  France,  and 
would  follow  Tonty  if  he  were  to  lead  them  against 
the  English  or  the  Spaniards.  "  Only  the  Iroquois 
on  the  east  remain  hostile.  An  army  of  these 


28  MARGARITA. 

savages  besieged  Tonty  for  days;  but  the  rock 
proved  impregnable,  and  they  finally  gave  up  the 
siege. 

"  Leaving  Tonty  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  but  promising 
to  come  again  up  the  Mississippi  from  the  south 
with  supplies  and  a  colony  from  France,  La  Salle 
came  to  Paris  and  laid  his  discoveries  before  tin 
King.  You  know  how  well  he  was  received,  ll«»n 
sieur  de  Conti.  You  know  too  the  unfortunate 
ending  of  the  expedition,  that  La  Salle  missed  tin 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi  and  landed  in  the  Texan 
i  try.  llere  the  fleet  left  his  colony  and  return. -.1 
to  France.  The  settlers  built  dwellings  and  fortiii«l 
i  In -nisei  ves  against  any  possible  attack  <>f  tin- 
Spaniards  or  Indians.  They  endeavored  to  accus- 
tom themselves  to  frontier  life,  sending  out  hunting 
parties  which  brought  in  an  abundance  <>i  Initial" 
meat  and  other  game.  La  Salle,  finding  that  tin- 
river  on  which  they  bad  established  themselves  was 
not  the  Mississippi,  set  out  with  a  party  to  disc 
the  great  highway  to  the  north  ;  but  the  men  who 
were  with  him  were  for  the  roost  part  brutal 
wretches,  who,  weary  of  the  hardships  which  thry 
had  to  endure,  formed  a  plot  among  themselves  to 
murder  him.  They  shot  him  before  the  eyes  of  his 
brother,  the  Abbe  Cavelier,  and  of  two  other  lo\al 
friends,  whom  they  overpowered  and  treated  as 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.    29 

slaves.  These  men  finally  escaped  and  made  their 
way  after  great  suffering  to  Tonty's  fort  of  St. 
Louis. 

"  Tonty  himself  was  not  there.  He  had  descended 
the  Mississippi  impatient  and  alarmed  at  hearing 
nothing  from  La  Salle,  and  he  returned  disheart- 
ened to  find  the  refugees  at  his  fort.  He  sent 
earnest  petitions  both  to  Governor  Frontenac  at 
Quebec  and  to  his  friends  in  France  that  a  relief 
expedition  might  be  sent  to  the  helpless  Texan 
Colony,  and  he  descended  the  river  twice  in  search 
of  it.  You  know  best,  Monsieur  le  Prince,  why 
their  King  left  it  deserted  to  an  unknown  fate." 

The  Prince  de  Conti  hung  his  head.  "  His  Maj- 
esty had  much  to  occupy  his  attention,"  he  stam- 
mered, "and  when  at  last  he  was  ready  to  send 
the  colonists  succor,  he  received  advices  from  Spain 
that  an  expedition  from  Mexico  had  found  the  fort 
deserted,  its  hapless  inhabitants  doubtless  massacred 
by  hostile  Indians." 

"  I  do  not  trust  the  Spaniards,"  cried  Bienville. 
"  It  may  be  that  some  survivors  of  that  unfortunate 
settlement  linger  still  among  the  Indian  tribes.  If 
they  were  exterminated  it  is  more  likely  that  the 
deed  was  a  repetition  of  what  happened  to  our 
Huguenot  colony  in  Florida,  and  was  the  act  of 
the  Spaniards  themselves.  Until  a  year  ago,  since 


30  MARGARITA. 

when  we  have  not  heard  from  him,  Tonty  has  not 
ceased  to  send  messages  to  Frontenac,  insisting  that 
La  Salle's  great  scheme  shall  not  be  given  up,  and 
swearing  that  he  will  hold  his  post  in  the  wihk  r 
ness  until  the  river  is  secured  to  France.  It  is  this 
which  has  brought  my  brother  d'Iberville  to  France. 
Our  dearest  desire  is  that  the  King  will  take  up  in 
earnest  this  business  of  planting  a  settlement  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  I  am  proud  that  Gov- 
ernor Frontenac  has  asked  the  King  to  confide  to 
my  brother  the  leadership  of  this  expedition." 

"And  you  are  going  out  with  him  ?"  asked  the 
Princess. 

"  I  do  not  wonder  that  you  ask/'  replied  Bien- 
ville.     "  It  is  an  honor,  is  it  not,  for  a  boy  of  eight- 
een to  be  his  brother's  lieutenant  in  such  a  ma«; 
cent  enterprise?    But  our  family  has  never  failed 
in  any  duty,  though  three  of  my  brothers  1 
died  at  their  posts.    So  I  do  not  think  that  1  .shall 
prove  unworthy  of    this  distinction.    While    my 
brother  founds  the  settlement  at  tin   mouth  <>i  th< 
river  I  hope  to  ascend  it,  for  I  shall  never  rest  until 
I  have  found  Tont 

He  looked  at  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  a  little 
wistfully  as  he  spoke,  but  she  gave  him  noatt.  n 
tion,  for  her  thoughts  were  all  with  Tonty  on  his 
lonely  rock. 


THE  SEARCH  FOR  THE  GREAT  RIVER.     31 

"  If  I  were  a  man,"  she  said, — "  if  I  were  only  a 
man,  I  would  go  with  you.  I  never  heard  a  story 
like  it.  The  King  must  send  you  out.  Surely, 
Monsieur  le  Prince,  you  can  persuade  him  to  do 
this  thing." 

"I  think  the  Princess  may  be  able  to  do  so," 
the  Prince  de  Conti  replied,  "  but  the  chief  requisite 
is  not  to  gain  his  Majesty's  consent  in  a  moment  of 
good  nature,  but  to  secure  the  proper  financial 
backing.  If  some  of  us  now  could  gain  over 
Crozat." 

"I  will,"  exclaimed  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac. 
"  I  know  the  old  capitalist  well.  He  is  my  father's 
friend  and  he  shall  take  up  the  scheme.  Tonty 
shall  be  succored.  He  shall  not  be  left  abandoned 
like  the  colony  in  Texas." 

Bienville's  soul  was  in  his  eyes  as  he  looked  at 
her,  and  indeed  she  was  magnificent  as  she  took  her 
leave,  fired  with  this  resolve. 

"There  is  a  compliment  for  you!"  said  the 
Prince,  after  she  had  gone.  "  She  has  fallen  in  love 
with  Tonty,  from  your  description,  Bienville.  The 
expedition  is  an  assured  success.  She  is  a  girl  who 
always  has  her  own  way.  I  verily  believe  that  in 
order  to  carry  her  point  she  would  be  capable  of 
marrying  old  Crozat ! " 


CHAPTER  III. 


II IK    OPAL  AGAIN. 

OMETIMES  it  happens 
that  two  events  occur 
which  seem  to  bear  no 
relation  to  each  oil 
until    a    third,    api 
ently  foreign  to  each  of 
the   preceding,   brings 
them  into  connection. 

It  was  so  with  my 
adventure  with  the 
owner  of  the  fire  opal, 
and  the  garden-party 
at  Chantilly.  Intimate  as  I  was  with  I'.imville,  I 
did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  tell  him  of  what 
had  passed  at  the  jeweller's  until  a  few  days  later, 
when  a  connecting  link  showed  that  the  affair  of 
the  opal  concerned  him  and  his  enterprise. 

The  Prince  de  Conti  had  entrusted  me  with  a 
message  for  his  kinsman,  the  Cardinal  de  Conti,  who 

had  recently  n- turned  from  Rome  and  had  taken  up 

H 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  33 

his  residence  temporarily  at  the  family  hotel.  I 
found  him  taking  tea  with  a  number  of  younger 
ecclesiastics,  all  listening  with  more  or  less  interest 
to  a  returned  missionary,  named  Father  Hennepin, 
who  was  recounting  his  experiences  in  Canada 
and  other  parts  of  America.  I  listened  with  in- 
terest, but  the  man  was  evidently  a  braggart,  and 
I  wondered  how  much  credence  I  ought  to  give  to 
his  exploits. 

"Have  I  ever  seen  the  Great  River?"  he  was 
asking  contemptuously  as  I  entered.  "  Why,  bless 
you,  I  discovered  it ;  and  explored  it  from  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony  to  the  Gulf,  before  ever  La  Salle 
landed  a  canoe  upon  it."  A  chorus  of  incredulous 
"  Ahs ! "  and  "  Indeeds  ! "  went  the  round  of  the 
table,  but  the  missionary  was  not  a  whit  abashed. 

"  I  was  with  Tonty,  I  tell  you,  and  before  La 
Salle  left  us  at  Fort  Crevecoeur  he  commanded  me 
to  ascend  the  Mississippi  and  to  bring  back  a  report 
of  those  northern  regions.  I  not  only  did  this  but 
I  went  down  the  river  as  well,  visited  the  Natchez 
Indians,  and  having  established  the  fact  that  the 
river  flows  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  I  returned  to 
Crevecoeur,  only  to  find  the  fort  and  the  Indian 
village  destroyed  and  deserted.  I  tried  to  make 
my  way  to  Michillimackinac,  was  captured  by  the 
Sioux,  and  finally  rescued  by  the  famous  courreur 


34  MARGARITA. 

de  lois,  Greysolon  du  Lhut.  I  followed  La  Salle  to 
France  and  found  on  my  arrival  that  be  had  sailed 
for  Louisiana.  I  have  been  in  Flanders  since,  wri- 
ting an  account  of  my  discoveries,  which  I  desire  to 
bring  to  the  notice  of  the  King." 

He  spoke  glibly,  as  though  he  had  learned  his 
lesson  by  heart.  "  You  come  in  a  good  time,"  said 
the  Cardinal,  "  for  the  King  is  interested  again  in 
his  colonization  schemes,  and  is  thinking  of  sending 
out  an  expedition." 

"  I  could  be  of  great  assistance  as  guide  and  in- 
terpreter," said  the  priest  "I  pray  you  speak  a 
good  word  for  me." 

"  While  you  were  with  the  Natchez  Indians," 
some  one  asked  behind  me,  "  did  you  learn  anything 
of  their  religion  ?  " 

I  did  not  turn  around  immediately,  l>ut  the  voice 
was  so  peculiar  that  I  knew,  even  before  I  saw  tin- 
face,  that  the  speaker  was  Fra  Luis  <lo  Riola,  the 
Spanish  Jesuit,  who  lind  tried  to  purchase  the  great 
fire  opal. 

"No  one  knows  the  customs  of  tin-  Natchez  so 
well  as  I,"  replied  Hennepin  confidently.  "They 
are  sun-worshippers.  I  have  witnessed  human  sac- 
rifices before  their  temple;  I  have  even  been  ad* 
mitted  into  its  hidden  chambers,  and  have  seen 
their  great  idol, — an  image  of  a  goddess,  the  daugh- 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  35 

ter  of  the  sun  from  whom  they  imagine  their  royal 
race  to  be  descended.  The  lady  sits  upon  a  unicorn 
and  she  holds  between  her  teeth  an  opal  as  big  as  a 
goose's  egg." 

"What ! "  exclaimed  the  Jesuit  sharply. 

"Truth.  I  tell  you,"  insisted  Hennepin,  "at 
least  it  was  at  one  time  as  big  as  a  goose's  egg ;  but 
it  has  been  broken;  the  temple  has  evidently  at 
some  time  been  entered  by  robbers,  and  a  great  part 
of  the  opal  chiselled  away.  But  the  Natchez  priests 
declare  that  no  human  being  could  ever  have  done 
this,  that  the  gem  was  riven  in  twain  by  a  stroke  of 
lightning  and  that  the  missing  portion  was  con- 
veyed by  the  Great  Spirit  to  the  greatest  chief  then 
living  on  earth,  with  the  command  to  leave  his  peo- 
ple and  allow  himself  to  be  adopted  by  the  Natchez 
and  become  their  King. 

"  This  has  become  their  fixed  custom.  The  King 
is  really  elected  in  council  and  the  opal  sent  to  the 
man  whom  the  tribe  desire  for  their  chief,  though 
it  is  supposed  to  reach  him  supernaturally. 

"  When  I  was  with  the  Natchez  I  took  pains  to 
tell  them  of  the  greatness  of  La  Salle,  and  the 
King  assured  me  that  he  desired  nothing  so  much 
as  to  have  him  for  his  successor,  and  that  he 
wished  me  to  tell  La  Salle  this  tradition,  for  if  he 
were  really  what  I  represented  him,  the  greatest 


36  MARGARITA. 

living  hero,  he  would  awake  one  morning  to  find 
the  opal  in  bis  hand,  and  would  know  by  that 
token  that  he  was  destined  to  become  the  King  of 
the  Natchez." 

44 A  very  pretty  story,"  said  the  Cardinal.  "I 
congratulate  you  on  your  imagination ;  you  are  a 
formidable  rival  to  our  writers  of  plays  and 
romances." 

44  What  I  have  told  you  is  the  absolute  truth," 
said  Hennepin  gravely. 

44 1  have  heard  something  of  this  tradition  in 
Spain,"  said  Fra  Luis.  4I  They  tell  it  there  some- 
what differently.  They  say  that  De  Soto  visited 
the  Natchez,  and  that  it  was  he  who  shatt<  n  <l  ili<> 
great  fire  opal  in  an  attempt  to  pry  it  from  the 
teeth  of  the  statue.  The  Indians  believed  that  his 
death  was  the  penalty  for  this  sacrilegious  act,  and 
that  the  gem  which  was  known  to  have  been  in  his 
possession  was  miraculously  restored  to  their  tom- 
ple.  Do  you  know,  my  friend,  whether  La  Salle 
ever  received  the  opal  and  refused  to  become  the 
chief  of  the  Natchez  ?  If  so  his  death  would  be  a 
strange  coincidence." 

"  I  cannot  tell,"  replied  Hennepin,  44  but  I  would 
give  much  to  possess  that  jewel,  for  with  it  one  has 
the  key  to  the  Great  River  and  all  its  tributaries." 

"  It  is  strange,"  said  Fra  Luis  carelessly,  44  that 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  37 

if  the  opal  was  ever  in  La  Salle's  hands,  his  brother 
who  escaped  the  assassins  neither  brought  it  nor 
any  account  of  it  to  France." 

"  You  forget,"  replied  Hennepin,  "  that  the 
villainous  gang  who  murdered  La  Salle  divided  his 
effects  between  them." 

"  Who  were  they  ?"  asked  the  Jesuit,  "  and  what 
became  of  them  ?  " 

"  There  was  the  surgeon,  Liotot,"  replied 
Hennepin,  "  a  man  of  some  education,  clever  in  the 
dressing  of  wounds.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been 
killed  by  one  of  his  associates,  an  English  pirate, 
named  James  Hiems." 

All  the  room  swam  with  me  as  he  uttered  these 
words,  for  I  knew  that  the  gem  which  I  had  seen 
in  Colin's  shop  was  the  great  fire  opal,  that  the 
man  who  had  hidden  it  so  long  in  that  uncanny 
marsupial-like  pouch  was  the  surgeon  Liotot,  and 
that  he  who  had  stabbed  Liotot,  (and  so  furnished 
him,  after  the  wound  had  healed,  with  a  hiding- 
place  for  the  jewel)  was  the  man  whom  I  had  en- 
countered lying  in  wait  outside  the  shop,  the  cross- 
eyed pirate,  Hiems. 

When  I  came  to  myself  after  these  cogitations  I 
realized  that  the  Cardinal's  guests  were  taking 
their  leave,  and  that  Hennepin  and  the  Spanish 
Jesuit  had  already  gone,  J  bowed  myself  from 


38  MARGARITA. 

great  man's  presence,  and  hastened  to  Colin's  shop 
determined,  that  cost  what  it  might,  I  would  pur- 
chase the  opal.  Evidently,  the  same  line  of  rea- 
soning had  passed  through  the  mind  of  Fra  Luis, 
for  as  I  came  upon  the  quai  I  saw  him  leaving  my 
friend's  door.  He  smiled  as  he  recognized  me. 
"  We  are  both  too  late,  my  friend,"  he  said  with 
mock  politeness ;  "  the  opal  is  gone.  Colin  assures 
me  that  its  owner  has  taken  it  away,  and  has  de- 
parted, no  one  knows  whither!  " 

He  spoke  the  truth.  The  man  had  refused  to  leave 
any  address,  and  seemed,  Colin  thought,  in  great 
fear.  He  was  going  away  immediately  to  somr 
distant  country  where  he  could  not  be  followed ; 
but  he  would  give  no  clue  as  to  his  destination. 
"  Something  else  has  just  happened."  Colin  ail<l«l, 
"something  so  strange  that  I  cannot  make  it  out, 
and  which  you  will  never  guess  though  I  give  you 
an  hundred  chances." 

"Oh!  yes,  I  can,"  I  replied  confidently;  "the 
Jesuit  who  called  when  I  was  here  before  has  just 
dropped  in  to  inquire  about  the  opal." 

"That    is    only   half.     The  man   did   not  s< 
greatly  disappointed  when  he  learned  that  it  was 
gone.     His  business  was  not  to  purchase  it,  but  to 
have  it  copied.     He  brought  with  him  this  opal, 
which  he  said  had  been  sent  back  by  the  Spanish 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  39 

missionaries  in  Mexico,  and  he  wishes  me  to  cut  it 
in  exact  imitation  of  the  other  stone." 

"  But  you  surely  cannot  do  this,  now  you  have 
not  the  original  to  copy." 

"  Very  fortunately  I  made  a  model  of  the  other 
in  wax.  It  was  such  a  peculiar  thing  that  I  thought 
I  would  like  at  least  that  record  of  it.  So  all  I 
have  to  do  is  to  cut  this  gem  into  exactly  the  same 
shape.  The  Jesuit  was  particular  that  the  frac- 
tured side  should  have  absolutely  the  same  cleav- 
age." 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  in  order  that  it  may  fit  the 
portion  in  the  idol's  mouth  and  deceive  the  Indians. 
Look  you,  Colin,  be  wary  how  you  become  a  party 
in  this  matter.  The  man  means  no  good.  He  will 
doubtless  send  that  false  gem  to  Spain  whence  it 
will  go  out  to  the  Spanish  Colonies  in  Mexico,  and, 
in  the  hands  of  some  Spanish  emissary  to  the 
Natchez,  will  work  great  mischief  against  the 
French  possession  of  Louisiana."  Whereupon,  I 
explained  my  meaning  more  clearly  by  telling  him 
the  entire  story  as  I  have  here  related  it. 

Colin  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  The  King  should 
know  of  this,"  he  said. 

"  Leave  it  to  me,"  I  urged.  "  I  will  see  the  Prin- 
cess of  Conti  who  will  tell  the  tale  to  her  royal 
father ;  in  the  meantime  you  can  put  Fra  Luis  off." 


40  MARGARITA. 

But  Colin  was  not  of  a  mind  to  lose  the  commis- 
sion, and  he  cut  the  gem  as  desired,  though  strange 
to  say,  his  patron  never  called  for  it.  But  more  of 
that  anon. 

You  may  be  sure  that  I  did  not  let  the  grass 
grow  under  my  feet,  but  hurried  from  Colin's  to 
Bienville,  and  finding  that  he  took  my  view  of 
the  case,  we  rode  the  next  day  to  Chantilly. 

Again  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  was  with  her 
friend,  and  she  cried  out  joyously  as  we  entered — 
"  It  is  all  arranged.  The  King  approves  the  coloni- 
zation scheme.  Your  brother  will  have  every 
facility  he  needs.  You  may  leave  as  soon  as  you 
please  for  La  Louisiane." 

Now,  though  this  was  exactly  what  Bienville 
most  desired,  his  brow  darkened  to  see  Mademoi- 
selle so  delighted.  He  gave  his  head  a  backward 
toss  in  a  way  that  he  had  when  he  strove  to  throw 
off  any  trouble.  "  I  owe  this  great  favor  to  you, 
doubtless,"  he  said,  bowing  deeply  to  Mademoiselle. 
44 1  shall  never  forget  it  if  I  live  a  thousand  years." 

"No,  not  to  me,"  she  replied,  "  but  to  the  Prin- 
cess of  Conti,  who  has  persuaded  Monsieur  to 
Pontchartrain,  Minister  of  the  Marine,  to  present 
the  scheme  to  the  King,  and  who  also  spent  two 
hours  putting  his  Majesty  into  good  humor  before 
the  interview." 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  41 

"  Then  Monsieur  Crozat  has  had  no  hand  in  it  ?  " 

"Monsieur  Crozat  has  not  been  approached  as 
yet,  though  I  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  secure  his 
aid  in  the  future  should  funds  be  lacking.  But 
you  have  not  thanked  the  Princess.  Down  on 
your  knees,  ingrate,  for  now  you  have  the  wish  of 
your  heart." 

Bienville  sunk  on  one  knee  very  gracefully. 
"What  can  I  do  to  prove  my  gratitude?"  he 
asked. 

"Whatever  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  wishes," 
the  Princess  replied,  a  little  piqued  by  his  tardy 
gratitude. 

"  Rescue  Tonty,"  cried  Mademoiselle. 

"  Yes,"  echoed  the  Princess,  "  rescue  Tonty,"  and 
she  gave  him  her  hand  languidly  to  kiss. 

"I  pledge  my  life  for  his,"  Bienville  said  as 
solemnly  as  though  he  were  a  young  knight  re- 
ceiving his  accolade,  but  though  his  reverence  was 
directed  to  the  Princess,  his  eyes  sought  those  of 
Mademoiselle.  She  leaned  back  in  her  fauteuil 
wearily  and  looked  at  Bienville  earnestly.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  she  was  studying  him,  questioning 
whether  he  were  capable  of  carrying  out  the  trust 
imposed  upon  him,  and  gradually  her  expression 
changed  showing  that  she  was  satisfied. 

Then  I  told  the  story  of  the  opal,  and  the  ladies 


42  MARGARITA. 

became  as  interested  as  we  were  in  the  talismanic 
gem. 

"If  Tonty  had  that  jewel,"  Mademoiselle  de 
Cadillac  mused,  "  the  Natchez  would  accept  him  as 
their  King,  and,  with  the  influence  which  you  say 
they  have  over  the  Pueblos,  he  could  hold  Louisi- 
ana against  the  Spaniards." 

"  He  could  hold  the  continent  against  the  world," 
Bienville  cried.  "He  holds  the  valley  now  against 
the  Iroquois  and  the  English.  lie  has  conciliated 
and  allied  all  the  nations  of  tho  north  and  west, 
only  these  southern  Indians  remain  aloof,  vacil- 
lating between  France  and  Spain." 

"You  can  outwit  tho  Jesuit,"  said  the  Princess. 
"Secure  the  imitation  opal.  If  it  would  serve  his 
purpose,  it  will  yours." 

Bienville  shook  his  head.  "  No  forgery  could 
impose  on  those  Indians,"  he  said  authoritatively. 
"  Be  assured  that  the  Natchez  priests,  who  guard 
the  other  fragment  of  the  sacred  opal,  would  at 
once  detect  the  imposture.  There  are  subtle  differ- 
ences in  the  coloring.  The  fires  in  no  two  opals 
are  identical.  It  would  go  hard  with  any  pretender 
who  offered  the  false  stone,  and  even  were  that  not 
so  neither  Tonty  nor  I,  nor  any  other  honorable 
man,  would  attempt  to  gain  the  allegiance  of  the 
tribe  by  such  a  deceit." 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  43 

"Do  you  think,  chevalier,"  asked  Mademoiselle 
de  Cadillac,  turning  to  me,  "  that  you  could  trace 
this  man  Liotot,  the  owner  of  the  opal?" 

"  It  is  a  difficult  quest,"  I  replied,  "  but  there  is  a 
bloodhound  on  his  track  who  will  sooner  or  later 
run  him  down.  The  best  way  might  be  to  track 
the  bloodhound." 

"You  mean  the  pirate,  James  Hiems,"  said 
Bienville. 

"  I  will  give  his  description  to  the  police,  and 
when  I  have  found  the  squinting  scoundrel  I  have 
only  to  watch  him  to  find  Liotot." 

"  In  the  meantime  Liotot  will  have  left  the  coun- 
try," said  Bienville. 

I  spread  my  hands.  "A  long  hunt  is  more 
amusing  than  a  short  one.  I  see  nothing  to  prevent 
my  leaving  the  country  also." 

"  Then  give  up  this  wild-goose  chase  for  the  opal, 
and  come  out  to  Louisiana  with  me.  My  brother 
d'Iberville  will  make  you  the  chief  of  an  Indian 
tribe  without  any  magical  help." 

"  No,  no,"  cried  Mademoiselle,  imperiously,  "  not 
until  he  has  found  the  opal  and  you  have  found 
Tonty.  Then,  if  you  both  wish  it,  Monsieur  de  St. 
Denis  has  our  gracious  permission  to  carry  the 
talisman  to  Louisiana." 

A  stranger  might  have  thought  her  jesting,  but 


44  MARGARITA. 

there  was  an  undercurrent  of  subdued  excitement 
in  her  manner  which  told  me  how  intense  was  her 
mood. 

Later,  while  Bienville  was  taking  leave  Made- 
moiselle took  me  aside  and  asked,  hastily,  "  II  <>\v 
much  did  you  say  the  man  Liotot  demanded  for  the 
opal  ?  Only  five  thousand  francs  ?  Then  you  must 
leave  an  order  with  your  friend  Colin  for  its  pur- 
chase for  me.  But  mind,  this  is  a  secret  between 
us.  My  father  would  be  very  angry  if  he  knew 
that  I  had  taken  so  large  an  amount  from  the  fund 
my  mother  left  for  my  dowry.  Nevertheless  the 
money  is  really  mine  and  I  choose  to  purchase  this 
talisman.  Oh !  make  every  effort  to  find  it  before 
Monsieur  de  Bienville  sails,  for  I  have  set  my  heart 
on  sending  it  out  by  him  to  the  Chevalier  Tonty." 

I  embarked  on  the  adventure  gaily,  simply  for 
the  pleasure  of  the  chase.  The  time  had  not  yet 
come,  though  it  was  nearer  than  I  thought,  when 
I  would  undertake  hazardous  and  painful  journeys 
for  the  sake  of  a  woman's  smile.  I  even  won- 
dered at  Bienville's  infatuation,  for  he  was  deeply 
in  love  with  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac.  He  could 
do  nothing  but  prate  of  her  when  alone  with  me, 
and  when  in  her  presence  he  could  scarce  talk  at 
all.  "She  is  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the 
world,"  he  declared. 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  45 

"  Nay,"  I  replied,  "  the  Princess  of  Conti  is  far 
handsomer, — and  what  do  you  know  of  beauty  ? 
You  have  fallen  in  love  with  the  first  civilized 
woman  whom  it  has  been  your  fortune  to  meet; 
wait  until  you  have  been  longer  at  court  and  I  will 
show  you  a  dozen  better  matches  both  in  looks  and 
fortune." 

"  I  care  not  what  her  fortune  may  be,"  Bienville 
exclaimed,  "I  could  even  wish  her  poor  that  I 
might  aspire  to  her  hand." 

"  She  is  poor  enough,"  I  replied.  "  Monsieur  de 
la  Mott  Cadillac  is  a  broken  man.  Think  you 
that  he  accepts  such  a  post  as  the  Detroit  for  the 
love  of  it  ?  But  that  you  are  her  match  in  poverty 
will  hardly  aid  you,  for  his  mind  is  set  on  a  wealthy 
son-in-law,  the  many-times  millionaire,  Crozat." 

"  She  boasted  her  influence  over  him,"  said  Bien- 
ville with  a  frown.  "  Yet  I  am  sure  that  Mademoi- 
selle de  Cadillac  will  never  sell  herself.  She  is  not 
for  either  of  us.  I  see  plainly  enough  that  her 
fancy  has  been  caught  by  the  ideal  she  has  pictured 
to  herself  of  Tonty.  She  loves  him  though  she  has 
never  seen  him,  and  if  she  sees  him  she  will  not 
be  disappointed,  for  he  is  worthy  of  her  love." 

"Nonsense,"  I  replied,  "a  real  flesh  and  blood 
lover  would  soon  outrival  such  a  figment  of  the 
imagination.  I  have  read  of  such  things  in  ro- 


46  MARGARITA. 

mances,  but  I  have  never  seen  them  in  real  life. 
Courage,  man,  improve  your  opportunities.  You 
are  on  the  ground,  and  fate  may  never  lead  Tonty 
her  way.  I  tell  you  your  only  real  rival  is  Crozat. 
Save  her  from  being  an  old  man's  bride.  Do  not 
talk  always  of  Tonty,  but  say  a  word  or  two  for 
yourself." 

44  It  is  not  I  that  introduce  the  subject  of  Tonty, 
it  is  she  who  is  always  questioning  me  of  him. 
Her  ideal  of  Tonty  will  save  her  from  Crozat." 

"  Very  well,  play  them  against  each  other  until 
you  come  back  from  Louisiana  with  your  for- 
tune made.  I  do  not  think  you  are  rich  enough 
as  yet  to  cut  any  figure  with  Monsieur  do 
Cadillac,  and  if  you  cannot  at  present  interest  his 
daughter,  it  may  be  your  best  game  to  keep  up  her 
admiration  for  Tonty." 

"I  will  play  no  game  for  my  own  advantage," 
Bienville  replied,  hotly.  44  She  loves  Tonty,  and  no 
wonder,  for  he  is  the  better  man,  and  I  would  do 
anything  under  heaven  to  serve  her,  even  to 
bringing  them  together." 

"  You  are  an  idiot,"  I  replied,  angrily. 

44  So  be  it,"  he  said,  smiling,  44for  they  say  that 
Providence  has  a  special  care  over  those  who  have 
not  the  wit  to  look  out  for  themselves." 

So  matters  went  on,  the  sailing  of  the  fleet  was 


THE  OPAL  AGAIN.  47 

delayed  by  many  necessary  preparations,  and  Bien- 
ville  seemed  not  over-impatient  to  be  off.  They 
say  that  every  woman  is  a  born  match-maker — and 
the  Princess  of  Conti  had  taken  a  fancy  to  Bien- 
ville  and  determined  to  aid  him.  She  left  Cbantilly 
and  established  herself  at  Versailles,  in  order  to  be 
near  her  friend,  and  she  would  send  her  carriage  to 
St.  Cyr  for  mademoiselle  every  day.  Bienville  was 
always  the  escort  sent  to  fetch  and  return  her. 
The  foolish  fellow  did  not  improve  his  opportunities 
as  he  should  by  making  love  to  her.  He  talked 
only  of  America — of  the  Canada  which  they  both 
knew  and  the  southern  country  to  which  he  was 
going.  With  all  the  help  of  the  Princess  they 
were  only  good  friends  when  they  parted.  Nay,  I 
am  wrong  there,  they  were  more,  though  they  de- 
ceived us  all  and  themselves  more  than  all  the  rest. 
He  had  brought  furs  from  Canada,  and  he  had  them 
made  up  for  her.  The  skin  of  a  great  brown  bear 
which  he  had  shot  furnished  her  hearth  with  a  rug, 
and  she  buried  her  pretty  face  that  winter  in  a 
sable  muff  which  was  the  envy  of  her  friends. 
She  accepted  these  presents,  as  they  were  offered  in 
the  name  of  friendship,  and  he  took  no  hope  be- 
cause they  were  not  returned. 

Meantime,  though  I  had  made  a  detective  of  my- 
self, and  had  scoured  Paris  in  search  of  Hiems  and 


48  MARGARITA. 

Liotot,  I  had  not  lighted  upon  the  least  trace  of 
either  of  them.  My  chagrin  was  deep  as  the  inevi- 
table 24th  of  October  of  that  fateful  year  of  1698 
approached,  for  that  was  the  date  set  for  the  sailing 
of  Bienville,  and  I  saw  that  he  would  be  obliged 
to  join  his  brother's  fleet  at  Brest  without  the 
talismanic  key  to  the  great  southwest  country. 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  wrote  me,  reproaching 
me  for  my  inaction,  and  I  replied  protesting  my 
zeal  but  admitting  my  despair.  Bienville  had  no 
reproaches  for  me,  when  I  bade  him  bon  voyage. 

"  Never  mind,"  he  said  bravely,  when  I  regretted 
my  failure  to  find  the  opal,  "the  chief  aim  at  pres- 
ent is  not  to  gain  the  Natchez,  but  to  find  Tonty. 
If  he  is  safe  he  will  win  the  Indians  by  his  wonder- 
ful persuasion,  or  with  our  help  by  force  of  arms. 
I  have  just  come  from  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac, 
and  something  tells  me  that  I  shall  not  fail,  that  I 
shall  find  Tonty  1" 


CHAPTER  IY. 


IN  WHICH  I  AM  SAVED  FROM   SUICIDE  BY  A  MUR- 
DER—NOT MY   OWN. 

EFORE  Bienville's  de- 
parture I  had  an  in- 
terview with  his 
brother,  d'Iberville,  a 
very  different  kind  of 
man,  as  I  have  al- 
ready intimated. 
Practical,  self-reliant, 
a  fighter,  not  an  ideal- 
ist, he  placed  no  con- 
fidence whatever  in 
Hennepin's  story  of 
the  magical  qualities  of  the  opal,  nor  did  he  feel 
any  regret  that  the  gem  had  slipped  through  my 
fingers. 

"  The  only  key  to  the  continent  that  I  ask,"  he 
said,  "is  my  good  svvord,  and  all  that  I  demand  of 
the  assassins  who  murdered  La  Salle,  is  that  they 
keep  out  of  its  way.  As  for  the  Spaniards,  it  is 
my  special  regret  that  we  are  at  peace  with  them, 

49 


60  MARGARITA. 

else  would  I  clean  them  out  of  their  nest  at  Pensa- 
cola,  the  braggart  cowards.  We  will  see  too 
whether  the  Natchez  who  are  supposed  to  hold  the 
Great  River,  will  demand  toll  from  my  frigates. 
We  have  only  one  formidable  enemy,  the  English. 
They  too  are  preparing  to  seize  the  Mississippi.  It 
may  be  a  race  between  us,  and  there  may  be  some 
fighting;  but  we  will  show  them  the  same  front 
that  we  did  at  Hudson  Bay  and  Quebec." 

"How  do  you  know  that  the  attention  of  the 
English  has  been  turned  to  the  gulf  ?  " 

"  Sir  William  Phips  has  been  cruising  there.  lie 
has  crossed  my  path  again  and  again.  He  nearly 
captured  Quebec,  and  be  has  great  credit  with  the 
English  King.  I  happen  to  know  that  he  is  in 
England  now.  An  expedition  of  this  kind  would 
exactly  suit  him.  I  have  a  presentiment  that  I 
shall  meet  him  again,  perhaps  find  him  waiting  for 
me  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  River. 

"  There  is  a  young  French  Huguenot  with  him 
too,  Etienne  de  Lancey,  who  unites  all  the  finette 
of  the  French  to  Phips'  bulldog  bravery.  There 
are  plenty  more  of  these  Huguenot  emigres  in 
America  and  in  England,  looking  for  a  favorable 
climate  and  fertile  land.  They  make  good  colo- 
nists, but  the  King  will  allow  none  of  them  to  settle 
with  us.  Consequently  instead  of  having  their  help 


8A  VED  FROM  SUICIDE.  51 

they  are  with  the  English  ready  to  supplant  us. 
A  pity  too,  for  they  are  our  own  flesh  and  blood. 
I  knew  one,  a  demoiselle,  of  good  French  family, 
Mademoiselle  Yvonne  de  Fontenay.  She  was  our 
prisoner,  when  my  brother,  St.  H61ene  and  I  took 
Schenectady.  A  nasty  piece  of  work  that,  I  want 
no  more  like  it/' 

He  was  silent,  and  I  began  to  suspect  that  the 
demoiselle  had  touched  his  heart,  and  I  asked  him 
slyly  if  it  were  not  so.  "  No,"  he  roared,  "  but  she 
might  have  been  my  sister-in-law  but  for  Phips' 
attack  on  Quebec,  and  that  same  young  Huguenot, 
Etienne  de  Lancey.  They  got  very  little  from 
their  attempt  to  seize  the  city,  but  they  got  her, 
for  they  effected  an  exchange  of  prisoners  before 
they  left  us." 

"  And  your  brother,  St.  H6l6ne,  let  her  go  with- 
out a  word  ?  " 

"  You  forget,  St.  Denis,  that  almost  the  last  shot 
fired  by  the  English  had  its  billet  in  my  brother's 
heart.  When  Phips  demanded  the  demoiselle, 
there  was  no  one  to  hinder  her  going,  for  St. 
H61ene  was  dead." 

I  had  reason  afterwards  to  recur  to  d'Iberville's 
apprehension  that  the  English  might  have  in  view 
designs  similar  to  our  own,  for  I  learned  from 
Cardinal  de  Conti  that  the  missionary  Hennepin, 


52  MARGARITA. 

not  being  able  to  interest  any  one  in  France  in  his 
schemes,  was  known  to  have  taken  himself  and  his 
story  of  the  opal  to  England. 

Phips  was  already  there,  waiting  for  orders.  It 
only  needed  a  match  like  Ilennepin  to  fire  a  mine 
already  laid.  I  comforted  myself  with  the  thought 
that  if  I  had  not  secured  the  opal  for  France, 
neither  had  Fra  Luis  obtained  it  for  Spain,  and 
England  was  still  further  off  its  track,  but  in  this  I 
deceived  myself,  for  I  had  taken  no  account  of  the 
pirate  Hiems,  or  imagined  that  he  also  was 
actuated  by  a  low  sort  of  patriotism,  but  a  circum- 
stance was  soon  to  occur  which  would  bring  him 
vividly  to  my  attention,  for  I  was  not  yet  through 
with  "  English  Jem." 

So  far  I  had  not  relaxed  my  efforts  to  trace 
Liotot.  I  remembered  that  he  told  me  that  be 
lodged  somewhere  between  the  Qua!  dee  Orfevres 
and  the  Sainte  Chapelle.  The  district  was  at  this 
time  a  maze  of  crooked  lanes,  which  centred  in  an 
irregular  court  shut  in  between  ancient  and  dilapi- 
dated houses.  One  of  these  exercised  a  strange 
fascination  over  my  imagination,  for,  bracketed  on 
projecting  rafters,  there  jutted  over  its  entrance  a 
little  room,  whose  windows  commanded  the  entire 
court.  An  observer  stationed  in  this  sentry  box  could 
seen  every  one  entering  the  court  either  from 


SAVED  FROM  SUICIDE.  53 

the  Quai  des  Orfevres  or  from  the  direction  of  the 
Sainte  Chapelle.  It  was  so  admirably  adapted  for 
this  purpose  that  I  decided  to  rent  the  room,  but, 
on  enquiring  at  the  chocolate  shop  beneath,  I 
found  that  it  was  already  occupied  by  one  of  the 
Canons  of  the  Sainte  Chapelle. 

For  the  next  six  months  I  was  so  absorbed  with 
my  own  concerns,  that  I  did  nothing  more  about 
the  opal.  I  was  called  to  the  Provinces,  by  the 
death  of  my  dear  old  mother,  who  had  always  sent 
me  two-thirds  of  her  life  annuity.  I  loved  her 
sincerely  and  felt  it  only  the  smallest  part  of  my 
loss  that  my  older  half-brother,  who  now  came 
into  the  estate,  promptly  cut  me  off  without  the 
proverbial  shilling. 

I  had  the  devil's  own  luck  that  year,  for  I  lost  in 
every  other  direction.  Returning  to  Paris,  I  fell 
in  at  the  Prince  de  Conti's  with  an  engaging  young 
Scotchman,  named  John  Law,  with  whom  I  was 
tempted  to  play.  He  was  the  sharpest  gambler  I 
ever  met,  but  so  engaging  in  manner  that  I  could 
never  resist  him,  and  we  continued  to  play  together 
until  he  won  from  me  my  last  penny. 

As  always  happens  after  such  a  calamity,  my 
rich  friends  turned  their  backs  upon  me.  The 
Prince  de  Conti  left  orders  that  I  was  never  to  be 
admitted  at  his  apartment  at  Versailles  or  at  his 


54  MARGARITA. 

chateau,  and  the  Princess  in  spite  of  her  coquetry 
with  me  in  my  fortunate  days,  sent  me  no  word  of 
consolation.  I  fancied  that  she  might  have  en- 
trusted it  with  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  and  I  called 
upon  her  at  St.  Cyr,  but  Mademoiselle  received  mo 
under  chaperonage  of  an  under  teacher  and  re- 
proached  me  for  my  gambling.  I  swallowed  that 
affront  and  asked  for  news  of  the  Princess  whni 
Mademoiselle  slipped  a  note  from  her  into  my 
hand.  It  gave  me  scant  comfort  when  I  opened  it 
after  my  departure — for  it  read  — 

"  MONSIEUR  : 

"  Never  presume  to  call  upon  me,  to  speak  to 
me,  or  to  write  to  me  again." 

There  was  no  signature  but  I  knew  the  hand- 
writing and  after  that  my  heart  grew  bitter,  and  I 
did  not  care  that  I  could  no  longer  afford  the  ex- 
pense of  appearing  in  high  society.  I  did  not  care 
for  anything  at  this  time,  for  it  seemed  to  me  that 
all  the  world  was  against  me.  I  did  not  reflect 
that  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac's  eyes  had  been  full 
of  a  tender  pity  even  while  she  reproached  me, 
and  at  the  time  I  was  not  so  grateful  as  1  should 
have  been  to  my  faithful  valet  J allot  who  opened  a 
barber's  shop  and  gave  me  the  room  above  it  in 
which  to  lodge.  I  should  have  starved  but  for 


JOHN    LAW 


SAVED  FROM  SUICIDE.  55 

him,  but  as  I  did  not  greatly  care  to  live,  I  was  not 
profuse  in  my  thanks. 

He  was  fortunate  from  the  first  in  obtaining  a 
good  class  of  customers.  Law  sent  him  his  wig  to 
be  curled,  and  after  that  all  the  dandies  of  the  day 
were  eager  to  place  their  noses  between  his  fingers. 
I  was  never  so  near  suicide  in  my  life  as  when  I 
saw  Law's  valet  call  for  his  master'  peruke,  and  I 
realized  that  I  was  living  (whether  with  his  knowl- 
edge or  not,  I  did  not  know)  on  the  pension  which 
the  scoundrel  who  had  won  ray  money  paid  my 
valet.  I  had  reached  the  dregs  in  my  cup  of 
degradation,  and  I  determined  to  put  an  end  to  my 
miserable  existence.  Wandering  down  to  the 
Seine  I  saw  that  it  would  be  better  to  put  off  my 
drowning  until  night,  and  crossing  to  the  cit6,  I 
walked  aimlessly,  possibly  from  force  of  habit,  past 
the  Sainte  Chapelle  and  through  the  tangle  of  lanes 
towards  the  Quai  des  Orfevres.  On  reaching  the 
open  court  which  I  have  already  mentioned,  I  was 
surprised  to  find  it  filled  by  a  crowd  of  excited 
people  who  stood  gazing  at  the  house  with  the 
little  projecting  chamber. 

I  asked  what  had  happened,  and  was  told  that  a 
murder  had  been  committed,  that  the  officers  of  the 
law  had  been  sent  for  and  that  a  priest  was  now 
confessing  the  dying  man.  I  elbowed  my  way  to 


56  MARGARITA. 

the  foot  of  the  stairs,  and  waiting  among  the  fore- 
most until  the  arrival  of  the  coroner,  I  mounted 
the  staircase  and  followed  the  officer  into  the 
chamber  of  the  murdered  man.  lie  was  quite  dead, 
and  the  priest  who  had  been  kneeling  at  his  side 
rose  and  gave  his  testimony  to  the  coroner. 

I  hardly  noticed  him  for  I  was  paralyzed  by 
recognizing  in  the  victim  the  man  I  had  so  long 
sought,  the  owner  of  the  opal,  in  all  probability  the 
Surgeon  Liotot.  In  my  astonishment  I  did  not  re- 
mark that  the  voice  of  the  priest  behind  mo  was 
strangely  familiar  or  attach  any  importance  to 
what  he  was  saying.  I  heard  him  say  that  he  also 
was  a  tenant  of  the  house,  and  had  chanced  to  be 
coming  in  when  the  landlord's  wife  met  him  with 
the  announcement  of  the  murder.  lie  bad  arrived 
too  late  to  be  of  any  service;  for  the  man  had  evi- 
dently died  several  hours  before. 

The  landlady  who  was  also  the  proprietress  of  the 
chocolate  shop  confirmed  his  testimony.  The 
man  must  have  been  killed  during  the  night,  for 
her  seat  in  the  room  below  was  at  her  desk  com- 
manding the  staircase  and  no  one  had  ascended  or 
descended  that  morning  but  herself.  She  had 
carried,  up  her  tenant's  coffee  and  had  placed  it  be- 
fore his  door  early  in  the  morning.  Later  going  up 
for  the  tray  she  was  surprised  to  find  that  it  had 


SAVED  FROM  SUICIDE.  5T 

not  been  touched.  As  there  was  no  reply  to  her 
knock  she  had  opened  the  door,  discovered  the 
tragedy  and  had  given  the  alarm. 

The  priest,  who  was  a  canon  of  the  Sainte 
Chapelle  had  not  occupied  his  room  that  night  but 
was  coming  in  as  she  ran  down  the  stairs. 

"  Why  were  you  not  in  the  house  ? "  asked  the 
coroner,  and  the  priest  replied,  "I  give  lessons  in 
Spanish  at  St.  Cyr.  I  passed  last  night  at  the  semi- 
nary." 

At  that  word  I  awoke  with  a  start  to  the  con- 
sciousness that  Fra  Luis  was  standing  beside  me. 
Even  then  I  was  too  dazed  to  see  any  reason  for 
detaining  him  and  he  glided  quietly  from  the  room 
while  I  continued  to  stare  horror-stricken  at  the 
corpse.  The  consciousness  that  I  had  been  on  the 
point  of  taking  my  own  life  had  much  to  do  with 
the  revulsion  of  feeling  with  which  I  gazed  upon 
the  ghastly  spectacle  as  the  coroner  turned  down 
the  coverlet. 

This  time  the  aim  of  the  cross-eyed  assassin  had 
not  failed.  A  strong  clasp-knife,  such  as  sailors 
carry,  was  planted  to  the  haft  in  Liotot's  heart. 

Above  this  wound  an  old  one  gaped,  but  the  little 
pouch  in  which  Liotot  had  carried  the  opal  was 
empty. 

Leaving  the  house  I  went  at  once  to  the  pre- 


58  MARGARITA. 

fecture  of  police  and  related  my  former  meeting 
with  Liotot,  giving  a  description  of  Hiems  who  I 
doubted  not  was  the  assassin.  My  friend  Colin  the 
jeweller,  who  was  in  the  crowd  of  spectators  in  the 
little  square,  went  with  me  and  also  deposed  to  the 
visits  of  the  murdered  man  to  his  shop. 

We  sauntered  back  slowly  together  talking  of  the 
occurrence. 

"And  what  is  very  strange,1'  said  Colin  as  we 
stood  on  the  Qua!  des  Orfevres,  "  is  that  I  saw  the 
murderer  yesterday.  I  was  tired  of  waiting  for 
that  queer  customer  the  Jesuit  to  come  for  the  opal 
which  he  had  me  cut  in  imitation  of  the  one  shown 
us  by  the  dead  man,  and  I  displayed  the  stone  in 
my  window  where  you  see  it  now.  In  the  evening, 
just  as  I  was  thinking  that  it  was  time  to  close,  I 
saw  a  face  flattened  against  the  glass.  It  was  that 
of  the  footpad  who  chased  you  into  my  shop  on 
that  memorable  evening.  I  could  not  tell  certainly 
whether  he  was  looking  at  the  opal  or  at  me  or  in 
both  directions  at  once,  for  he  was  frightfully  cross- 
eyed." 

"  Then  it  was  surely  he,"  I  cried,  and  with  that 
I  caught  Colin's  arm ;  "  but  look  !  Look  at  your 
window,  and  where  is  the  opal  ?  " 

Where  the  man's  face  had  appeared  one  of  the 
small  diamond  shaped  panes  had  been  cut  out  and 


8A  VED  FROM  SUICIDE.  59 

through  the  aperture  he  had  evidently  slipped  his 
hand  and  abstracted  the  gem.  Other  valuable 
pieces  of  jewelry  had  lain  within  reach  but  only  the 
stone  cut  in  imitation  of  the  great  fire  opal  was 
gone. 

"We  could  not  understand  the  theft.  Why  should 
Hiems  have  taken  it  if  he  knew  that  in  a  few 
hours  the  real  gem  would  be  in  his  possession? 
Moreover  Colin  was  certain  that  when  he  took 
down  the  shutters  that  morning  the  glass  was  un- 
cut, the  opal  still  in  the  window.  If  he  was  not 
mistaken  in  this  the  disappearance  of  the  stone  was 
still  more  inexplicable,  for  the  pane  must  have  been 
removed  in  broad  daylight.  It  was  true  that  the 
quai  was  little  resorted  to  at  this  time  of  day,  and 
that  Colin  had  left  his  shop  unoccupied  for  an  hour 
or  more, — but  the  theft  was  none  the  less  a  mys- 
tery and  was  long  to  remain  so. 

A  wholesome  desire  to  live  had  now  taken  the 
place  of  my  morbid  feelings,  and  when  Colin  com- 
plained that  the  theft  would  not  have  occurred  if  he 
had  had  a  clerk  to  leave  in  his  shop,  I  told  him  of 
the  straits  I  was  in,  reminded  him  of  my  love  for 
and  knowledge  of  jewels  and  begged  him  to  give 
me  employ. 

The  humble  lapidary  was  kinder  to  me  than  any 
of  my  great  friends,  for  he  instantly  accepted  me  as 


60  MMKSMUTA. 

his  confidential  clerk  and  apprentice,  promising  to 
make  me  an  expert  cutter  of  gems.  For  a  time  I 
continued  to  lodge  with  Jallot,  but  I  found  this  in- 
convenient on  account  of  the  distance,  though  my 
self-respect  was  no  longer  outraged,  for  now  I  paid 
him  for  value  received. 

Inquiring  one  day  of  the  chocolate  dealer,  I 
learned  that  the  police  had  not  caught  the  mur- 
derer but  believed  the  crime  was  committed  by  a 
stranger  who  had  taken  a  room  in  a  building  which 
fronted  on  another  street,  but  which  had  a  window 
opening  on  this  court  She  showed  me  a  strong 
vine — running  up  close  to  his  window,  and  then 
trending  across  to  that  of  Liotot's,  up  which  a 
sailor,  used  to  rigging,  might  have  climbed,  and 
this  was  probably  the  way  in  which  he  effected  his 
entrance  and  exit  Fra  Louis  might  have  heard  ,,r 
seen  him  had  he  slept  in  his  room,  hut  that 
night  fate  decreed  that  he  was  away.  The  house- 
holders were  most  afflicted  because  they  had  lost 
their  two  lodgers,  for  the  priest  who  had  occu; 
the  little  room  over  the  entrance  had  not  been  seen 
since  the  day  of  the  murd<  r. 

I  decided  at  once  to  rent  it  and  took  possession 
that  night.  Fra  Luis  had  left  so  suddenly  that  he 
had  apparently  taken  none  of  his  belongings  with 
him,  but  there  was  nothing  of  a  compromising  char- 


SA  VED  FROM  S  UICIDE.  61 

acter  in  the  few  articles  of  clothing  and  religious 
books  that  were  laid  neatly  in  the  wall  cupboard. 

On  the  inside  of  the  cupboard  door,  however,  he 
had  tacked  a  map  of  North  America,  which  in- 
stantly attracted  my  attention.  The  chart  had 
evidently  been  prepared  by  some  one  of  the  early 
Spanish  explorers,  for  it  told  more  of  the  country 
immediately  north  of  Mexico,  than  was  known  to 
us  Frenchmen.  I  studied  it  with  curiosity  and 
noticed  the  words,  "  Search  here  for  buried 
treasure,"  near  a  town  marked  "Gran  Quivira," 
and  in  another  spot,  "This  country  is  full  of 
mines."  On  the  floor  of  the  closet  I  found  also 
the  title-page  of  a  Spanish  book  in  which  might  have 
been  given  the  clue  to  much  that  was  mysterious  in 
the  map,  if  only  Fra  Luis  had  not  carried  it  with 
him.  The  title-page  alone  stimulated  my  interest, 
for  it  read,  "A  brief  relation  of  two  notable  voy- 
ages, the  first  made  by  Friar  Augustin  Ruyz,  a 
Franciscan,  in  the  year  1581 ;  the  second  by  An- 
tonio de  Espejo,  in  the  year  1583,  who  discovered 
a  land  wherein  they  found  fifteen  provinces,  all 
full  of  towns,  containing  houses  four  and  five  stories 
high,  which  they  named  New  Mexico,  for  that  in 
many  respects  it  resembleth  the  province  of  Old 
Mexico,  by  the  which  it  is  thought  that  men  may 
travel  even  to  the  Terra  de  Labrador.  Taken  out 


62  MARGARITA. 

of  the  History  of  China,  written  by  Friar  Juan 
Gonzales  de  Mendoja,  printed  in  Madrid,  15 > 

Here  was  a  new  occupation,  and  I  spent  my 
evenings  after  my  return  from  Colin's  shop  in  puz- 
zling over  this  map,  trying  vainly  to  understand 
Fra  Luis'  geographical  studies. 

The  Rio  del  Espiritu  Santo  which  De  Soto  had 
discovered,  and  in  which  he  was  buried,  was  indi- 
cated, but  I  did  not  know  that  this  was  La  Sallc's 
Riviere  Colbert  and  our  Mississippi.  I  stared  at  the 
seven  cities  of  Cibola,  not  guessing  that  one  day 
I  should  travel  among  them,  or  that  the  city  of 
"  Nazacahoz  "  of  De  Soto,  was  the  Natchez  of  \vliu  h 
Tonty  and  Hennepin  bad  told  us,  and  my  future 
kingdom.  If  only  Fra  Luis  had  left  some  key  to 
all  this  unknown  country.  I  inquired  in  vain  at 
our  book  shops  for  Mcndoya's  History  of  China, 
and  though  I  returned  to  the  map  each  evening 
with  fresh  curiosity,  I  laid  it  aside  with  no  en- 
lightenment. 

Meantime,  my  work  during  the  day  at  Colin's  was 
more  immediately  satisfactory.  A  geologist,  \vh<> 
afterwards  became  famous,  the  Sieur  Le  Sueur,  often 
came  to  the  shop  to  talk  with  Colin  about  precious 
stones.  He  was  interested  in  what  we  told  him  of 
the  opal,  not  from  its  magical  but  its  scientific 
aspect.  He  had  much  to  say  also  of  the  green  and 


SAVED  FROM  SLUG  IDE.  63 

blue  turquoises  of  Mexico,  of  which  he  had  read  in 
Spanish  accounts  and  he  longed  to  explore  the 
mines  of  that  country.  From  him  I  learned  much 
about  the  gems  I  loved  that  Colin  could  not  tell 
me,  their  native  habitat,  their  kinship,  and  the 
traces  which  told  of  their  proximity.  I  loved 
jewels  and  I  soon  became  skilful  in  setting  and  cut- 
ting them.  Work  had  restored  my  mental  poise, 
and  I  was  more  myself  than  I  had  been  at  any 
time  since  Bienville  sailed ;  but  there  was  better 
fortune  still  in  store  for  me. 


CHAPTER  V. 


WHICH    I    AM    <>1  I  I  KID    A     KINGDOM. 

N  the    latter  part    of 
June   i  ',1  that 

d'Iberville  had  re- 
turned from  Louis- 
iana, reporting  the 
••ss  of  the  expedi- 
tion and  asking  for 
more  supplies  and 
more  colonists. 
Though  I  was  now 
sane  enough  to  take 
up  the  burden  of  life 
bravely,  I  was  by  no 

means  satisfied  with  my  position.  That,  a  man 
of  quality  should  be  reduced  to  the  labor  of  a 
mechanic  for  his  daily  bread  was  a  galling  reflec- 
tion. I  frequently  hid  myself  in  the  back  work- 
room when  people  of  fashion  entered  the  shop.  I 
hoped  never  to  meet  any  of  my  former  acquaint- 
ances, and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  I  had  changed 

64 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  65 

my  lodging,  but  I  wanted  to  put  a  greater  distance 
still  between  me  and  the  old  life,  and  I  longed  fora 
career,  no  matter  how  difficult,  if  only  there  were 
hope  of  some  achievement  at  the  end.  So  when  I 
knew  that  d'Iberville  had  come  back  I  determined 
to  ask  him  to  take  me  with  him  on  his  return  to 
Louisiana. 

I  had  no  sooner  reached  this  conclusion  when 
Jallot  burst  into  the  shop  wild  with  excitement. 
The  King,  he  said,  had  sent  for  me.  A  messenger 
had  descended  at  his  barber  shop,  announcing  that 
his  Majesty  desired  my  presence  at  his  petit  lever 
on  the  following  day.  How  the  great  Louis  had 
learned  that  I  could  bo  reached  through  Jallot,  or 
that  my  valet  had  opened  this  barber  shop,  I  could 
not  guess. 

Louis  the  Magnificent  bad  sent  for  me !  What 
could  it  mean  ?  I  wondered  and  wondered,  while 
Jallot  got  my  court-suit  out  of  pawn,  scoured  my 
sword,  and  curled  my  peruke.  Colin  added  dia- 
mond buttons  to  my  costume  and  hired  a  couple  of ' 
horses  for  us,  and,  followed  by  my  valet,  I  pre- 
sented myself  at  Versailles  at  the  appointed  time. 

His  Majesty  was  quite  alone,  except  for  his  pri- 
vate secretary  who  was  writing  at  a  table  at  a  little 
distance. 

"Monsieur  de  St.  Denis,"  the  King  began,  looking 


66  MARGARITA. 

at  me  keenly  while  he  fingered  some  memoranda. 
"  I  am  sorry  to  learn  of  your  embarrassments,  and 
I  hope  to  put  you  in  the  way  of  mending  your 
fortunes." 

I  replied  that  I  was  surprised  that  his  Majesty 
had  ever  heard  of  me,  or  that  so  great  a  monarch 
should  take  any  interest  in  so  humble  a  personage 
as  myself. 

"I  know  more  of  you  than  you  imagine,"  replied 
the  King.  "You  forget  that  my  daughter,  tho 
Princess  of  Conti,  is  your  very  loyal  fririnl." 

I  told  his  Majesty  that  this  information  surprised 
as  much  as  it  gratified  me,  for  I  had  been  refused 
admittance  whenever  I  had  presented  myself  at 
doors. 

"  And  did  the  idea  never  occur  to  you,"  asked 
Louis,  "that  this  was  by  her  husband's  orders?  It 
may  not  be  altogether  unflattering  to  your  vanity 
to  know  that  Armand  de  Bourbon,  Prince  de  Coin  i, 
is  jealous  of  you,  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis." 

"  Impossible ! "  I  exclaimed. 

Louis  frowned.  "  It  seems  to  me,"  he  said  curtly, 
"that  the  Princess  is  not  without  attrac- 
tions." 

"Undoubtedly,"  I  stammered.  "Madame  la 
Princesse  de  Conti  is  the  most  beautiful  woman 
in  the  world,  but  she  is  as  pure  as  she  is  beautiful. 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  67 

No  one  could  gaze  upon  her  but  with  the  most  pro- 
found, the  most  sacred  respect." 

"Very  well  said, — but  why  then  have  you  al- 
lowed the  Prince  to  be  annoyed  by  letters  which 
you  have  written  his  wife,  protesting  your  devotion, 
and  assuring  her  that  you  have  ordered  for  her  in 
proof  of  this  '  sacred  respect,'  jewels  of  enormous 
value." 

"  It  is  a  base  slander,"  I  cried,  but  Louis  stopped 
my  mouth  by  placing  in  my  hand  a  letter  which 
I  recognized  as  one  which  I  had  long  since  given 
to  the  princess  for  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac. 

I  remembered  the  circumstances  perfectly.  As 
an  aunt  of  the  Prince  de  Conti's  was  present,  who 
acted  as  a  sort  of  duenna  over  the  princess,  I  had 
engaged  her  attention  by  handing  her  a  new  song 
of  Lulli's,  and  had  slipped  the  letter  into  the  hand 
of  the  Princess  of  Conti  as  she  sat  at  her  embroidery 
frame.  I  thought  that  I  had  managed  this  very 
cleverly,  but  the  old  cat  had  seen  me  and  had  re- 
ported the  incident  to  her  nephew,  who  had  forced 
the  princess  to  give  it  up.  I  saw  how  this  letter 
might  have  been  misunderstood  as  I  read : 

"  DEAREST  LADY  : — 

"  The  jewel  which  you  desire,  and  which  I 
have  promised  you  shall  be  yours.  I  have  reason 
to  believe  that  Fra  Luis  has  bid  five  thousand 


68  MARGARITA. 

livres  for  it,  but  I  have  informed  Colin  that  I  will 
outbid  that  and  any  other  offer  he  may  make. 
My  fortune  is  but  slender,  but  it  is  at  your  service 
to  its  last  penny.  I  will  go  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  I  will  shed  my  heart's  blood  for  one  so  dear 
to  me  as  my  Bien  - 

"  Your  devoted  servitor, 

"  JUCHEKEAU  DE  ST.  DEM 

"  But  you  misunderstand,  sire,"  I  cried.  "  It  is 
all  a  mistake.  I  had  begun  to  write  Bienville,  not 
Irienaimee,  and  I  scratched  the  word  through  pru- 
dence. This  letter  was  not  written  to  the  Princess 
of  Conti  at  all,  but  entrusted  to  her  for  a  friend." 

"And  that  friend?" 

"Ah!  sire,  I  am  most  unfortunate.  I  have 
promised  to  keep  her  secret." 

Louis  le  Grand  relaxed  from  his  great  manner 
and  throwing  back  his  head  laughed  at  my  embar- 
rassment. 

"  So  my  daughter  explained  to  me,"  he  said  good- 
humored  ly.  "It  is  she  who  has  interested  me  in 
you  and  in  this  matter  of  the  opal.  She  has  given 
me  a  full  report  of  everything,  and  it  exactly 
tallies  with  your  own  explanation.  Unfortunately 
the  Prince  de  Conti  will  not  see  the  matter  in  this 
light. 

"He  adores  his  wife,  and  imagines  that  every 
one  else  adores  her.  Having  nothing  else  to  do,  he 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  69 

spends  his  time  in  alternate  jealousy  and  reconcili- 
ation. But  though  he  is  perpetually  forgiving  her 
for  imaginary  faithlessness,  he  is  not  so  generous 
to  his  supposed  rivals.  Having  once  got  it  into  his 
head  that  you  have  the  presumption  to  admire  his 
wife,  we  shall  have  great  difficulty  in  correcting  the 
misapprehension.  Perhaps  it  is  hardly  worth  the 
trouble  to  try,  as  he  swears  he  will  make  France 
too  hot  for  you,  and  the  best  thing  you  can  do 
under  the  circumstances  is  to  carry  out  your 
promise  of  devoting  your  heart's  blood  to  your 
friend  de  Bienville,  and  to  go  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  to  serve  him." 

"  There  is  nothing  I  desire  more  earnestly,  sire. 
If  I  could  have  obtained  the  gem  of  which  I  speak 
in  that  letter,  how  gladly  would  I  perform  the 
quest  I  promised." 

"  Ah !  you  managed  that  affair  very  badly,"  said 
the  King.  "I  never  watched  a  more  bungling 
piece  of  detective  work  in  my  life.  Why,  man, 
you  had  all  the  threads  in  your  hands,  and  to 
allow  yourself  to  be  outwitted  by  Fra  Luis ! " 

"But  the  murderer  escaped  with  the  opal  to 
some  unknown  country,  and  my  finances  were  so 
involved  that  I  could  not  pursue  the  chase,  even  if 
I  had  held  the  clue." 

"  Bah !  the  murderer  did  indeed  get  away  to  Eng- 


70  MARGARITA. 

land,  but  empty  handed.  Did  you  not  observe, 
when  you  examined  the  corpse  of  the  murdered 
man,  that  the  knife  had  been  driven  through  his 
shirt  ?  Hiems  never  examined  the  body  or  suspected 
that  the  opal  was  hidden  an  inch  away  from  his 
dagger's  point  in  the  cavity  made  by  his  former  at- 
tempted murder — and  he  left  it  in  its  hiding-place." 

"But  sire!"  I  stammered,  "when  I  saw  the 
dead  man  the  little  pouch  was  empty  !  " 

"  True,  but  who  knelt  by  the  man's  side  when  you 
entered  the  room  and,  under  pretence  of  feeling  if 
his  heart  still  beat,  in  the  presence  of  the  lami 
lord's  wife,  slipped  his  hand  within  his  breast? 
"  Dolt  that  you  are,  to  have  suspected  nothing 
even  when  you  knew  that  Fra  Luis  had  neglected 
to  call  for  his  imitation  gem.  What  need  had  he 
for  it  when  he  possessed  the  original  ?  " 

"  Your  Majesty  does  not  know  that  the  duplicate 
opal  disappeared  on  the  same  day  as  the  original  ?  " 

"  Indeed !  A  mere  coincidence.  If  Fra  Luis  had 
desired  it  he  would  not  have  exposed  himself  to 
arrest  by  stealing  what  was  really  his  own 
property.  "It  was  Fra  Luis  who  influenced  the 
Prince  de  Conti  against  you.  He  knew  of  your 
intimacy  with  the  Princess  through  bis  pupil 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac.  lie  persuaded  the 
Prince  that  you  had  used  Mademoiselle  as  a  go- 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  71 

between  in  your  correspondence  with  his  wife. 
The  Prince  could  not  compromise  her  by  chal- 
lenging you  to  a  duel,  but  he  could  introduce  you 
to  Law,  and,  when  you  fell  into  that  trap,  forbid 
your  admittance  to  his  house,  on  the  ground  that 
you  were  a  notorious  gambler.  Our  friend  Fra  Luis 
foresaw  this  result  or  something  like  it  from  the 
jealousy  of  the  Prince,  and  he  knew  that  you  would 
be  too  busy  with  your  own  affairs  to  trace  his  move- 
ments further,  or  to  know  or  care  that  on  the  very 
evening  when  you  were  gambling  with  Law  he  left 
France  for  Spain  carrying  the  opal  with  him. 

"  There  were  others  on  the  alert  if  you  were  not, 
Monsieur  de  St.  Denis ,  though  I  regret  to  say  that 
my  agents  were  not  quick  enough  and  did  not  find 
this  out  until  the  Jesuit  was  safely  over  the  Spanish 
frontier ;  out  of  my  power  but  not  out  of  my  sight. 
He  has  been  carefully  watched,  and  his  sailing  for 
Mexico  with  his  brother,  Captain  Andreas  de  la 
Riola  was  promptly  reported  to  me.  His  further 
destination  can  be  easily  guessed,  without  doubt 
the  Spanish  missions  in  Texas,  from  which  he  will 
proceed  to  the  towns  of  the  Natchez  Indians,  and 
with  the  authority  of  this  talisman  make  himself, 
or  some  other  Spaniard,  their  chief ;  and  then  stir 
them  up  to  exterminate  our  infant  colony  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi. 


72  MARGARITA. 

I  hid  my  face  in  my  hands  and  groaned.  It  was 
all  so  evident  now,  that  my  failure  seemed  unpar- 
donable. The  King  overwhelmed  me  still  further. 
"  Listen,  Monsieur,"  said  he,  "  perhaps  you  have  not 
thought  out  the  entire  significance  of  our  claim  to 
the  Great  River.  Our  colonists  pressing  westward 
and  eastward  from  its  borders  will,  with  their 
Indian  allies,  eventually  crowd  the  Spaniards 
into  the  Pacific,  and  the  English  from  off  their 
narrow  strip  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the 
whole  American  continent  will  belong  to 
France." 

I  raised  my  head,  for  the  King  spoke  as  though 
this  magnificent  result  were  still  possible,  as  though 
it  had  not  been  absolutely  ruined  by  my  stupidity. 

"  What  can  I  do,  sire,"  I  asked  humbly,  "  to  re- 
trieve my  blunder  ?  " 

"  A  blunder  is  often  worse  than  a  crime,"  the 
King  replied, "  but  you  shall  have  your  opportunity. 
In  your  present  circumstances  you  can  hardly  desire 
to  reside  in  France.  Go  to  the  Texas  country  and 
vanquish  Fra  Luis  on  his  own  ground." 

"  Sire,  you  are  too  magnanimous.  I  wonder  that 
you  have  any  confidence  in  me,  that  you  do  not 
entrust  this  mission  to  the  clever  detective  who 
has  succeeded  where  I  have  failed." 

"  It  is  impossible  for  that  detective  to  go  to  that 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  73 

wild  country,  at  least  for  the  present,  and  she  has 
herself  suggested  you  for  this  duty." 

"She?  Is  it  possible  that  this  detective  is  a 
woman  ?  " 

"  Very  possible.  I  wonder  that  you  have  not  al- 
ready guessed  that  the  unraveller  of  the  mystery  is  our 
clever  little  friend,  Mademoiselle  de  la  Mott  Cadillac." 

I  was  stupefied.  "  But  how,  sire,  could  she  spy 
upon  the  actions  of  a  Spanish  priest  ?  " 

"You  know  that  he  was  her  instructor  at  St. 
Cyr.  She  so  won  his  esteem  that  he  told  her  much 
of  his  life;  that  following  the  example  of  Las 
Casas,  he  intended  to  become  a  missionary  to  the 
Indians,  and  only  waited  to  sail  for  Mexico  with 
his  brother  Don  Andreas  de  la  Kiola,  until  a  mys- 
terious duty  was  accomplished,  a  duty  which  she 
readily  guessed.  She  might  have  learned  more. 
We  might  even  have  obtained  possession  of  the 
opal,  if  you  had  not  spoiled  everything  by  writing 
the  unfortunate  letter  which  frustrated  your  own 
designs,  by  betraying  to  the  Jesuit  your  interest  in 
the  game.  From  that  time  we  had  difficulty  in 
watching  Fra  Luis,  for  he  left  St.  Cyr  and  took  the 
little  chamber  over  the  door  of  the  house  near  the 
Sainte  Chapelle,  to  which  he  must  have  already 
tracked  Liotot.  That  he  was  an  accomplice  in  his 
murder  or  had  any  knowledge  that  Hiems  was  in 


74  MARGARITA. 

the  neighborhood,  I  do  not  believe.  I  only  \vish 
that  I  had  many  servants  as  faithful  to  France  as 
he  is  to  his  country.  And  now,  Monsieur,  it  is 
agreed,  is  it  not,  that  you  are  to  go  out  with 
d'Iberville  on  his  second  voyage?  Arrived,  you 
will  first  make  it  your  business  to  find  Fra  Luis, 
and  to  obtain  the  opal  by  any  means  whatsoever ; 
and  having  once  obtained  it,  you  will  proceed 
to  the  Natchez  country  and  become  the  chief  of 
that  nation." 

"  But  your  Majesty,"  I  objected,  "  I  have  already 
promised  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  to  offer  the  gem 
to  the  Sieur  Tonty." 

"  D'Iberville  reports  that  he  has  been  unable  to 
find  Tonty.  He  may  not  be  living,  or  and  if  alive  he 
will  hardly  wish  to  accept  the  responsibilities  of  the 
position.  Offer  it  to  him  if  you  wish,  or  hold 
the  tribe  under  him  for  France,  but  hold  it  at  any 
rate  until  either  Tonty  or  Bienville  relieves  you  of 
the  post.  My  secretary  here  will  so  make  out  your 
commission.  Do  you  swear  to  do  this  no  matter 
in  what  it  may  involve  you  ?  " 

"  I  swear  it  unhesitatingly,  your  Majes 

The  King  looked  at  me  searchingly.  "  Do  you 
fully  realize  what  you  promise  ?  "  he  asked.  "  You 
are  to  go  to  New  Spain ;  can  you  resist  all  the  in- 
ducements which  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  75 

you  to  transfer  your  allegiance  to  the  Spanish 
Monarch  ?  " 

"  Tour  Majesty,  I  have  many  faults,  but  no  man 
living  can  challenge  my  loyalty,  for  no  man,  were 
he  the  King  of  Spain  himself,  could  devise  bribe 
or  penalty  great  enough  to  make  it  swerve  one 
hair's  breadth  from  the  service  of  my  country." 

"  No  man,  I  believe  you ;  but  do  you  know  the 
Spanish  women  ?  " 

"  No,  your  Majesty." 

"  Then  do  not  boast.  My  wife  of  blessed  mem- 
ory was  the  daughter  of  Philip  IV  of  Spain.  She 
was  Spanish  at  heart  to  the  last,  though  she  never 
strove  to  influence  me  against  the  interests  of 
France.  Had  she  done  so,  I  cannot  say  what  I 
might  have  done.  Beware,  Monsieur,  of  Spanish 
women,  for  they  are  not  all  so  great  minded. 

"  You  have  a  difficult  task  before  you,  many  hard- 
ships and  perils  doubtless  after  you  assume  the 
governance  of  your  little  kingdom,  but  I  have  ordered 
d'Iberville  to  build  a  fort  as  near  you  as  possible, 
and  to  stand  ready  to  succor  you  in  any  time  of 
danger.  You  shall  have  a  patent  such  as  I  gave 
Longueuil  and  Frontenac,  and  I  keep  for  you,  when 
you  have  earned  it,  this  cross  of  the  order  of  the 
Chevaliers  de  St.  Louis  ! " 

He  pointed  as  he  spoke,  to  the  decoration  of  the 


76  MARGARITA. 

military  order  which  he  had  founded, — the  cross 
for  which  many  a  man  had  gallantly  met  death, 
and  many  more  were  to  give  their  lives  in  supreme 
heroism. 

I  knelt  and  murmured  with  sincere  emotion — 
"Your  Majesty,  I  ask  no  reward  other  than  the 
opportunity  to  retrieve  myself." 

"  It  is  yours.  When  you  come  again  to  France,  I 
will  vindicate  you  to  the  Prince  de  Conti  in  the 
full  blaze  of  the  court.  He  shall  acknowledge  him- 
self mistaken,  and  the  Princess  shall  attach  this 
decoration  to  your  breast.  Until  then,  it  is  best 
that  you  should  not  see  her.  But  there  is  another 
little  lady  whom  you  will  wish  to  see  before  you 
leave,  and  I  have  asked  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac 
to  meet  a  friend  at  the  apartment  of  Madame  de 
Maintenon." 

I  took  my  leave,  but  before  doing  so  showed  the 
King  the  map  which  I  had  found  in  the  Jesuit's 
room,  and  pointed  out  the  route  which  he  had 
marked  to  the  New  Mexican  and  Texan  missions. 

"A  la  lonne  heure!  "  exclaimed  the  King,  "you 
have  there  a  document  which  will  enable  you  to 
track  our  sly  friend.  After  all  you  are  not  so 
stupid  as  you  have  seemed,  and  I  believe  that 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  made  a  good  choice  when 
she  selected  you  for  this  business." 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  77 

Madame  de  Maintenon  informed  me  a  few  mo- 
ments later  that  I  would  find  Mademoiselle  in  a 
retired  part  of  the  grounds  called  the  Jardin  du 
Eoi. 

Evidently  the  King  imagined  me  in  love  with 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  and  wished  to  afford  me 
an  opportunity  of  saying  a  tender  farewell.  Per- 
haps the  Princesse  de  Conti  had  suggested  this  in 
refutation  of  her  husband's  suspicions.  It  was  not 
worth  while  to  complicate  matters  by  denying  the 
insinuation,  especially  as  I  much  desired  to  talk 
with  Mademoiselle. 

As  I  hastened  down  the  long  marble  staircase 
leading  from  the  upper  parterres  of  the  garden  of 
Versailles  to  the  orangerie,  I  stood  for  an  instant 
at  a  vantage  point  where  a  gap  in  the  dense  foliage 
allowed  me  a  glimpse  of  the  bouquet  of  the 
Jardin  du  Hoi.  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  was 
already  there.  She  was  restless  and  impatient, 
and  strove  to  occupy  herself  by  making  a  chaplet 
of  laurel  leaves  with  which  she  was  now  crown- 
ing one  of  the  statues,  a  mischievous  faun.  She 
stood  off  for  an  instant  to  catch  the  effect,  then 
vexed  with  herself  she  snatched  away  the  wreath 
and  threw  it  in  my  direction. 

"  Thanks,"  I  cried,  "  a  little  more  impetus  and  I 
might  have  caught  the  wreath.  I  accept  it  as  a 


78  MARGARITA. 

good  omen.  Fortune  is  showering  me  with  laurels 
at  the  beginning  of  my  enterprise." 

"  Which  you  have  the  maladdress  not  to  seize," 
she  replied,  lightly.  "Why  have  you  kept  me 
waiting  so  long?  Come  quickly  and  tell  me  the 
news." 

I  was  at  her  side  in  a  moment,  but  she  would  not 
let  me  speak  before  she  had  craved  my  panl<>n. 
"  For  what  ?  "  I  asked ;  "  you  never  wronged  any 
one  in  your  life,  Mademoiselle,  least  of  all  me." 

"I  scolded  you  when  you  did  not  deserve  it, 
when  you  were  in  trouble  and  should  have  had 
my  sympathy." 

"  You  reproached  me  for  gaming,  and  I  deserved 
your  censure.  Had  it  come  earlier  it  might  have 
saved  me  from  myself;  but  I  had  already  inflicted 
my  own  punishment  by  losing  all  I  had." 

"  Yes,  and  had  I  known  that  I  would  never  have 
spoken.  I  hoped  to  open  your  eyes  to  your  danger- 
ous friend  Law." 

"  Then  it  is  for  jne  to  thank  you.  Experience  is 
a  good  schoolmistress.  She  has  taught  me  my 
lesson  very  l&rfoughly.  I  must  not  complain  that 
her  charges  are  rather  exorbitant.  You  need  never 
worry  lest  I  take  to  dice  again,  Mademoiselle.  If 
ever  I  have  money  to  throw  away  it  shall  never  be 
in  that  direction." 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  79 

"  I  can  well  believe  that  there  are  other  games 
which  would  be  more  attractive  to  a  man  of  your 
tastes,  Monsieur.  The  King  told  me  that  he  was 
about  to  offer  you  a  hand  in  one  where  you  would 
be  sure  to  win." 

"  There  is  enough  of  chance  in  it  to  demand  all 
my  skill  in  the  playing,"  I  replied,  "  and  to  leave 
it  a  little  uncertain  whether  the  winner  is  to 
be  your  humble  servant  or  your  friend  Fra  Luis." 

"You  call  him  my  friend  a  little  scornfully, 
Monsieur  de  St.  Denis.  And  yet  I  must  be  per- 
V  .^ectly  frank  with  you,  and  tell  you  that,  though  he 
is  not  my  friend,  the  man  is  so  single  of  purpose, 
so  wonderfully  devoted  to  his  cause,  that  (until  I 
discovered  that  he  was  as  subtle  and  crafty  as  he 
was  earnest,  and  was  acting  the  same  part  with 
me)  I  hated  myself  for  making  him  talk  of  his 
great  enthusiasm,  simply  to  play  the  spy  and  to  en- 
deavor to  foil  his  dearest  plans." 

"  But  those  '  dearest  plans '  involved  the  failure 
of  the  French  expedition  to  the  Mississippi  and  its 
conquest  by  Spain." 

"  Only  because  he  honestly  believed  that  the 
Spanish  missionaries  had  the  conversion  of  the  In- 
dians more  at  heart  than  the  French.  When  he 
asked  me  what  Spanish  authors  I  would  like  to  read 
with  him,  I  begged  for  his  favorite  book.  It  was  a 


80  MARGARITA. 

relation  of  what  these,  missionaries  and  especially 
Las  Casas  had  done  and  suffered  in  order  that  the 
Indians  might  be  converted.  I  assure  you  it  was 
sublime." 

"Absurd ! "  I  cried.  " Spain  has  shown  very  lit- 
tle love  for  the  souls  of  the  Indians  in  comparison 
for  her  greed  for  their  silver.  It  is  the  plate-fleet 
which  keeps  up  her  desire  for  conquest  of  the  new 
region  of  New  Mexico,  and  for  the  Mississippi,  as 
another  port  and  door  of  entry  into  that  land  of 
mines  of  precious  metals  and  gems.  No  people 
have  treated  the  Indians  more  cruelly  than  the 
Spaniards.  Have  you  forgotten  too,  how  they  mas- 
sacred our  Huguenot  colony  in  Florida  ?  Have  you 
lost  all  your  admiration  of  Tonty's  heroic  efforts  to 
hold  the  northern  portion  of  the  valley  from  the 
English  and  their  allies,  the  Iroquois  ?  I  thought 
you  took  some  interest  in  Bienville's  purpose  to* 
complete  La  Salle's  magnificent  work.  I  do  not 
understand  you  at  all,  Mademoiselle." 

"  No,"  she  replied,  a  little  sadly,  "  you  do  not 
understand  me.  I  admire  Tonty  more  than  ever, 
and  I  have  not  lost  an  atom  of  interest  in  your 
friend  Bienville;  but  I  am  sorry  that  Fra  Luis 
must  be  their  enemy,  for  he  is  most  conscientious, 
and  there  is  no  enemy  so  unrelenting  as  one  who 
believes  that  he  is  doing  God  service." 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  81 

"But  we  are  doing  God  service  too,"  I  cried. 
"No  missionaries  are  more  devoted  than  the 
French.  I  will  match  Las  Casas  with  P£re  Mar- 
quette  and  the  heroes  now  scattered  among  the 
savage  tribes. 

"  Father  Zenobius  Membre,  who  was  with  La  Salle 
through  all  his  hardships  went  out  with  Bienviile. 
Others  will  go  with  us.  Wherever  we  place  a  foot 
it  will  be  as  sentry  to  a  chapel.  I  swear  to  you, 
Mademoiselle,  that  I  devote  my  sword  as  truly  to 
our  most  holy  faith  as  to  France." 

Her  mood  softened.  "  You  remind  me  of  Bien- 
viile," she  said.  "  Have  you  caught  his  enthusiasm  ? 
Forgive  me,  but  hitherto  I  have  thought  you 
frivolous." 

"  I  may  have  been,"  I  admitted.  "  But  the  old  life 
here  in  France  is  closed  to  me.  The  old  Juchereau 
de  St.  Denis  is  dead.  The  King  in  his  clemency  has 
offered  me  a  new  career,  and  I  hope  to  show  you  a 
new  man." 

She  gave  me  her  hand  frankly.  "  Tonty,  Bienviile, 
St.  Denis.  You  three  should  do  great  things  ! " 

"And  d'Iberville,"  I  added. 

"  Oh !  yes,  d'Iberville ;  but  I  think  of  him  as  I  do 
of  his  Majesty  and  of  Monsieur  Crozat,  as  furnishing 
the  means  for  your  more  personal  exploits.  D'Iber- 
ville will  have  the  glory  of  founding  the  colony,  but 


82  MARGARITA. 

will  spend  his  time  in  going  and  coming ;  but  you 
will  have  the  wild  work  with  the  Indians." 

"D'Iberville  will  do  his  share,  Mademoiselle.9' 

"  Tell  me  just  what  the  King  wishes  you  to  do, 
Monsieur  ?  " 

When  I  had  told  her  she  cried,  "It  is 
exactly  what  Fra  Luis  means  to  do  for  Spain,  to 
establish  some  Spaniard  as  chief  over  the  united 
western  tribes,  of  which  he  says  the  Natchez  are  the 
eastern  clan.  It  is  a  confederation  like  the 
Iroquois.  The  great  fire  opal  will  make  you 
king  not  only  of  the  river  branch,  but  of  the  seven 
cities  of  Cibola,  great  pueblos  that  stretch  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  western  ocean  and  of  the  Gran 
Quivira  the  richest  of  them  all.  The  Spaniards 
know  more  of  these  tribes  than  we  do.  Fra  Marcos 
and  his  negro  slave,  Estevanico,  visited  their  walled 
cities  on  the  high  bluffs,  and  found  them  inhabited 
by  people  who  wove  fabrics,  made  pottery  and 
worked  in  metals.  Fra  Luis  told  me  of  their  dis- 
coveries and  those  of  other  Spaniards,  De  Soto, 
Coronado  and  Espejo  an  hundred  years  ago,  and 
how  the  friars  settled  among  the  people  and  were 
doing  a  great  work  until  the  greed  and  cruelty  of 
the  Spanish  soldiery  drove  the  Indians  into  in- 
surrection. 

"Now    see    the  devotion  of  the  missionaries. 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  83 

Although  it  is  scarcely  twenty  years  since  the 
Indians  expelled  the  Spaniards  from  their  country, 
killing  the  priests  and  burning  their  churches,  they 
are  back  again  among  them  courting  martyrdom 
for  the  sake  of  winning  souls.  Fra  Luis  little 
thought  in  his  moments  of  expansion  that  I  was 
gathering  it  all  up  to  help  you  defeat  his  plans. 
But  one  day  everything  was  changed.  Something 
had  betrayed  me.  He  no  longer  gave  me  informa- 
tion but  sought  to  obtain  it  from  me." 

"  That  was  after  the  Prince  de  Conti  told  him  of 
my  letter.  Fra  Luis  suspected  that  it  was  intended 
for  you.  "  How  much  did  he  gain  from  you,  Made- 
moiselle ?  " 

"  Not  much,  for  when  he  asked  me  of  you  I  was 
at  once  suspicious,  and  though  he  strove  to  deceive 
me,  after  that  I  did  not  believe  him.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  met  you  at  Colin's  shop  where  you 
were  purchasing  a  peculiar  opal  which  had  attracted 
his  attention  also,  because  before  he  examined  it 
carefully,  he  had  been  deceived  into  thinking  it 
might  possibly  be  the  Indian  talisman.  He  tried  to 
make  me  think  that  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  it 
was  not  the  great  fire  opal,  for  he  had  received 
positive  proof  that  the  real  stone  was  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Indians,  and  that  any  one  attempting  to 
deceive  them  by  presenting  this  one  would  un- 


84  MARGARITA 

doubtedly  be  burned  alive  as  a  pretender.  This  I 
was  sure  was  told  me  in  order  that  I  should  report 
it  to  you.  Neither  was  he  deceived  by  the  announce- 
ment made  when  d'Iberville  and  Bienville  sailed 
that  their  destination  was  the  Amazon  River.  He 
mentioned  the  report  casually  to  me.  'They 
know  at  Madrid,'  he  said,  '  that  this  lie  is  simply 
to  throw  us  off  the  scent  and  that  the  expedition 
has  sailed  for  the  other  great  river.  They  will 
find,  however,  when  they  arrive  that  Spain  has 
anticipated  them.'  The  last  time  that  I  saw  him 
was  just  after  your  troubles  came  upon  you.  He 
pretended  great  sympathy  for  you,  and  lamented 
that  so  fine  a  young  man  should  have  ruined  bis 
future  not  so  much  through  gaming  as  by  a  scan- 
dalous infatuation  for  a  very  exalted  lady." 

I  clinched  my  hands.  "  You  know  this  was  un- 
true," I  said,  "  and  yet  you  say  that  you  admire 
him?" 

"  I  admire  his  ability,  not  his  character.  He  is 
one  of  those  who  think  it  allowable  to  do  evil  that 
good  may  come.  I  still  insist  that  his  primal  mo- 
tive is  a  good  one.  To  accomplish  the  conversion 
of  the  Indians  he  is  perfectly  willing  to  ruin  any 
insignificant  persons  who  may  come  in  his  way. 
Never  trust  his  friendship  if  you  meet  him,  but 
pever  doubt  his  devotion  to  what  he  believes  to  be 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  85 

the  right.  He  would  kill  you  without  the  slightest 
scruple,  and  he  would  give  up  his  own  life  as  un- 
hesitatingly. But  enough  of  Fra  Luis.  I  never 
saw  him  after  the  murder  of  Liotot  was  reported. 
I  could  not  help  connecting  him  with  this  occur- 
rence. I  longed  to  talk  it  over  with  you,  but  the 
Princess  did  not  know  what  had  become  of  you. 
She  told  me,  however,  that  her  father  had  interested 
himself  in  the  matter,  that  she  had  told  his  Majesty 
everything  which  we  knew,  and  that  he  had  as- 
sured her  that  you  were  safe." 

I  thanked  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  for  all  her 
help,  and  told  her  how  I  had  occupied  Fra  Luis' 
room,  showing  her  the  map  which  we  had  both 
studied  so  faithfully. 

"  He  must  have  had  great  need  for  instant  de- 
parture," she  mused,  "  if  he  could  not  step  into  an 
adjoining  room  and  collect  his  few  belong- 
ings." 

"  You  forget  that  the  police  were  in  possession  of 
the  house,  and  that  such  an  act  would  have  led  to 
his  arrest." 

"  True,  but  why  should  he  have  gone  at  all  if  he 
had  not  secured  the  fire  opal  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  inference  which  the  King  draws. 
And  it  proves  also  that  the  stone  which  he  took 
from  Liotot  is  the  real  talisman." 


86  MARGARITA 

"Then  you  will  have  to  find  him  to  get  it.  I 
tremble  for  you." 

"  I  thank  you,  Mademoiselle,  but  I  do  not  trem- 
ble, on  the  contrary  it  adds  a  zest  to  the  adven- 
ture." 

"  Have  you  weighed  all  the  possibilities  in  which 
it  may  involve  you?"  she  asked.  "As  chief  of 
those  tribes  you  may  be  obliged  to  live  always 
among  them,  condemned  to  perpetual  exile  from 
France.  Do  you  leave  no  one  behind  whom  you 
would  regret  not  to  see  again  ?  " 

"No  one  but  you,  Mademoiselle.  Jallot,  my 
faithful  servant  will  go  with  me,  and  I  hope  to 
send  my  friend  Colin  enough  emeralds  and  tur- 
quoises to  make  up  for  my  absence." 

"  Then  we  shall  hear  of  you  possibly  as  the  hus- 
band of  an  Indian  princess  like  Pocahontas.  They 
say  our  coureurs  de  lots  find  these  beauties  very  at- 
tractive. I  can  well  imagine  that  Tonty  for  in- 
stance, whose  life  must  be  nearly  that  of  an  Indian 
chief,  might  fall  in  love  with  some  beautiful  chief- 
tainess." 

I  told  her  that  from  all  that  I  had  heard  Tonty's 
heart  was  as  impregnable  a  fortress  as  his  lonely 
rock. 

"And  your  friend  Bienville?"  she  asked  care- 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  87 

"  Bienville ! "  I  cried  ;  "  surely  you  know,  Made- 
moiselle, that  with  all  the  ardor  of  a  first  affection, 
which  blights  when  it  does  not  bless,  Bienville 
loves  - 

"Nay,  do  not  tell  me  whom,"  she  interrupted, 
"  that  were  a  betrayal  of  confidence."  There  were 
two  deep  crimson  spots  on  her  cheeks  as  she  spoke, 
and  I  believed  she  knew  that  she  alone,  and  she 
always  had  been  and  would  be  the  lady  of  that 
faithful  heart. 

"  But  do  not  go  yet,  for  I  have  more  to  tell  you. 
The  Sieur  d'Iberville  called  on  me  yesterday.  He 
brought  a  letter  from  his  brother.  It  said  very 
little,  only  that  they  had  not  yet  found  Tonty,  but 
they  had  come  upon  traces  of  him  among  the 
Indians.  As  he  rounded  one  lonely  point  in  his 
canoe  Bienville  thought  that  he  saw  Tonty  or  his 
ghost,  but  it  was  an  Indian  chief  wearing  a  long 
coat  of  gray  serge  with  a  pointed  hood  which 
Tonty  had  given  him.  With  another  chief  they 
found  a  letter,  which  Tonty  had  left  for  La  Salle 
when  he  descended  the  river  searching  BO  unsuc- 
cessfully for  his  friend,  and  knowing  not  that  his 
murdered  body  lay  near  at  hand. 

"Bienville  said  little  beside  protesting  that  he 
would  find  him,  that  he  would  set  out  on  the 
search,  as  soon  as  d'Iberville  should  return,  and 


88  MAMGAMTA 

taking  command  at  the  fort  leave  him  free  to  ex- 
plore the  river.  D'Iberville  told  me  much  more ; 
how  his  brother  Bienville  was  untiring  in  the  most 
laborious  duties,  and  in  advance  in  every  dangerous 
adventure,  how  he  had  already  learned  three  or 
four  Indian  dialects  and  had  won  several  tribes  by 
his  tactful  mediation.  *  I  should  as  soon  be  able  to 
do  without  my  right  hand,'  this  strong  man  said, 
'  as  without  my  little  brother.' ' 

"  I  knew  it,"  I  cried.  "  There  was  more  in  that 
quiet  fellow  than  any  of  us  gave  him  credit  for, 
Mademoiselle.  The  King  has  left  me  free  when  I 
find  the  opal  to  givr  it,  with  its  responsibilities,  to 
either  our  friend  or  to  Tonty ;  and  I  really  think 
that  it  will  be  best  to  make  Bienville  king  of  the 
allied  nations." 

"  No,  not  Bienville,"  she  cried  impetuously.  "  You 
told  me  that  it  should  be  Tonty.  The  King  said 
that  he  would  confer  the  Indian  kingdom  on  Tonty, 
and  that  if  he  could  not  or  would  not  accept  it  you 
should  have  it.  Bienville  is  not  fit  for  such  a  post. 
Promise  me  that  you  will  hold  it  for  Tonty." 

I  misunderstood  her  utterly,  and  I  was  angry  at 
heart,  wondering  how  in  her  love  for  a  phantasm  of 
her  imagination  she  could  be  so  blind  to  Bienville's 
love  and  worth.  Long  after  I  knew  what  she 
meant  by  saying  that  Bienville  was  not  fit  for  this 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  89 

position;  but  how  was  I  to  guess  then  that  the 
Jesuit  had  told  her  that  the  adopted  king  of  the 
Indians  must  marry  an  Indian  princess.  His  infor- 
mation was  truthful.  As  with  the  Aztecs  and  other 
tribes  of  the  southwest  the  Natchez  believe  that 
their  reigning  family  are  demigods.  Descent  is 
through  the  oldest  sister  of  their  chief,  who  must 
always  marry  an  ordinary  mortal  as  far  removed 
from  her  own  tribe  as  possible.  This  man  must 
present  as  his  credentials  the  missing  fragment  of 
the  great  opal,  which  is  supposed  to  identify  him  as 
the  bridegroom  chosen  by  the  gods  and  the  greatest 
of  living  chieftains.  All  of  this  I  was  to  learn  to 
my  future  tribulation ;  but  I  had  no  conception  at 
this  time  that  it  was  because  Mademoiselle  did  not 
wish  me  to  know  that  she  loved  Bienville,  that  she 
feigned  so  great  an  interest  in  Tonty,  and  that  it 
was  proof  that  she  loved  him,  that  she  was  not 
willing  that  he  should  purchase  this  dignity  of 
king  of  the  allied  tribes  by  marrying  their  princess. 
Though  my  heart  was  free  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
would  have  started  on  the  quest  of  the  opal  so  con- 
fidently had  I  at  this  time  known  all  the  responsi- 
bilities which  my  kingship  entailed ;  so  mercifully 
at  the  beginning  of  great  enterprises  in  this  world 
are  the  eyes  of  those  who  undertake  them 
hoiden ! 


90  MARGARITA. 

I  was  leaving  Mademoiselle,  vexed  with  her  for 
her  treatment  of  my  friend,  when  she  called  mo 
back. 

"  You  have  not  asked  if  I  have  any  message  for 
you  to  take  to  Monsieur  de  Bienville." 

"  No,"  I  answered  surlily.  "  I  am  surprised  that 
you  who  are  so  infatuated  with  Tonty  should  have 
any  interest  in  him." 

She  laughed  merrily.  "  Perhaps  it  is  because  of 
my  infatuation  for  Tonty  as  you  call  it,  but  I  admit, 
I  do  admire  his  loyal  friend,"  she  said  this,  looking  at 
me  with  her  head  on  one  side.  "Tell  Monsieur  de 
Bienville  that  I  am  delighted  with  what  his  brother 
reports  of  his  zeal,  and  to  spare  no  endeavor  in  find- 
ing Tonty." 

"  Coquette,"  I  thought,  "  and  so  you  would  make 
a  cat's-paw  of  an  honest  man's  devotion  for  a  mere 
romantic  whim." 

"  And  what  will  be  Bienville's  reward,"  I  asked 
aloud,  "  if  after  risking  his  life  a  thousand  times  in 
your  service  he  finally  succeeds  ?  " 

"I  will  tell  you,"  she  replied  excitedly,  "but  it 
must  be  a  secret  between  us.  You  must  not  tell 
Bienville  until  I  give  you  permission.  If  he  succeeds, 
I  will  myself  go  out  to  Louisiana." 

"You,  Mademoiselle,  to  that  wilderness,  alone, 
unprotected  !  It  must  not  be." 


OFFERED  A  KINGDOM.  »1 

"  Oh  !  I  shall  be  properly  protected !  Monsieur 
de  Crozat  has  his  eye  on  the  colony.  I  cannot  tell 
you  more  now,  but  prepare  to  be  surprised,  and  to 
give  me  a  welcome." 


CHAPTER  VI. 


WEENONAH. 

We  see  how  great  from  the  sunrise  land 

Yon  come  with  every  boon, 
We  know  that  oars  is  the  waning 

And  yours  the  waxing  moon. 
Bat  the  same  earth  spreads  for  as  and  yon, 

And  death  for  both  is  one. 
Why  should  we  not  be  brothers  true, 

Before  oar  day  is  done? 

—Edna  Dean  Proctor. 

~~m      MT  ANY  important  events 
l^k  /  I          happened  in  the  first 
fo  I  years    of  the  settle- 

\^9  '  ~BL  ment  of  Louisiana 
which  I  have  no  space 
to  recount  in  this  re- 
lation. I  am  not 
writing  a  history  of 
the  colony,  but  merely 
my  personal  experi- 
ence, and  only  certain 
memories  of  those  ad- 
ventures of  my  early  manhood  which  still  stand  out 
with  distinctness,  though  the  mists  which  shroud  the 

92 


WEENONAH.  93 

unknown  sea  which  we  must  all  sooner  or  later  sail 
away  to  explore,  are  beginning  to  settle  about  me 
and  to  blur  the  background  of  my  life.  Even  so  I 
have  seen  a  great  artist  when  his  picture  was  nearly 
finished  purposely  obliterate  the  details  to  which  in 
the  heat  of  his  first  painting  he  had  given  too  much 
importance,  in  order  that  the  purpose  of  the  paint- 
ing should  not  be  confused  and  lost.  This  purpose 
of  my  life-picture  I  see  more  plainly  now  than  when 
like  a  brush  in  the  hands  of  the  great  Master  I  was 
working  on  some  corner  of  the  canvas. 

Bienville  had  this  sense  of  being  led  he  knew  not 
where  by  some  fatality,  and  at  first  it  filled  him 
with  profound  melancholy,  though  later,  as  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  explain,  through  the  influence  of 
a  noble  woman,  his  sense  of  helplessness  changed 
to  one  of  confidence  in  the  higher  power  that  brought 
such  unforeseen  factors  and  results  into  his  life. 

As  for  me,  except  at  the  dark  time  that  I  have 
already  described,  (and  one  other  when  I  endured 
still  keener  anguish  with  more  of  courage),  I  never 
lost  my  natural  insouciance  and  gaiety.  As  I  have 
already  put  it,  life  was  a  game  partly  of  chance, 
partly  of  skill,  and  henceforward  I  played  it  with 
zest  and  a  light  heart  even  when  the  cards  were 
against  me. 

Under  my  apparent  carelessness  I  played  my  best 


94  MARGARITA. 

for  my  own  sake  and  that  of  my  partner,  and  as  a 
man  of  honor,  never  tricking  my  opponent  when  I 
had  the  opportunity. 

We  each  seemed  older  to  the  other  when  we  met 
at  the  little  settlement  of  Biloxi,  where  the  first 
blockhouse  was  reared  before  inundations  taught 
the  wisdom  of  removing  to  the  site  which  later 
was  chosen  for  New  Orleans.  Bienville  had  been 
busy  enough  while  his  brother  was  away;  but 
beside  overseeing  the  construction  of  log  buildings 
and  the  planting  of  crops  he  had  found  time  to  make 
several  exploring  expeditions. 

One  very  remarkable  event  had  occurred.  He 
had  received  a  visit  from  two  I  rench  priests,  Fa- 
thers Montigny  and  Davion,  who  were  settled  with 
the  Natchez  and  the  Tensas,  having  been  left  there 
by  Tonty.  The  Indians  had  brought  them  word  of 
the  arrival  of  the  French  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  they  had  paddled  down  in  their  canoes 
to  welcome  their  countrymen.  Bienville  sent  them 
back  laden  with  good  things,  promising  to  return 
their  visit.  Two  months  later  he  set  out  with  two 
pirogues  (long  canoes),  five  men  and  a  quantity  of 
provisions  and  presents  to  fulfil  his  promise,  but 
falling  in  half  way  with  a  war  party  who  opposed 
his  progress,  he  decided  to  defer  the  expedition  un- 
til d'Iberville's  arrival,  and  prudently  turned  his 


WEENONAH.  95 

canoes  down  stream.  When  about  twenty  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  he  was  startled 
by  the  appearance  of  an  English  corvette  carrying 
guns  and  loaded  with  emigrants. 

This  was  the  English  expedition  which  d'Iberville 
had  anticipated.  It  was  only  a  part  of  a  fleet  which 
had  sailed  in  search  of  the  Great  Kiver,  on  the 
strength  of  the  relation  of  Hennepin,  which  had  had 
great  influence  in  England.  The  captain  of  this 
ship  happened  to  be  a  man  named  Banks,  whom 
d'Iberville  had  met  and  captured  in  Hudson's  Bay, 
and  who  had  such  a  respect  for  his  former  captor 
that  when  Bienville  assured  him  that  d'Iberville  had 
claimed  and  would  hold  the  river  for  France,  he  at 
once  acknowledged  his  priority  of  occupation.  He 
received  Bienville  on  board  and  treated  him  with 
courtesy.  Here  he  also  met  another  old  acquaint- 
ance, the  French  Huguenot  who  had  come  to  Que- 
bec with  Phips  and  had  taken  away  Mademoiselle 
de  Fontenay,  the  prisoner  from  Schenectady,  in 
whom  Bienville's  brother,  St.  H6l£ne,  had  been  so 
much  interested. 

This  young  man  had  boarded  the  ship  when  it 
touched  at  the  English  colonies,  and  he  plead  with 
Bienville  for  permission  to  return  with  other 
Huguenot  families  and  join  their  colony.  Bienville 
promised  to  report  this  to  his  brother ;  and  d'Iber- 


96  MARGARITA. 

ville  himself  would  gladly  have  granted  the  request 
if  the  King's  bigotry  had  not  made  it  impos- 
sible. 

While  the  two  Frenchmen  conversed  on  the  Eng- 
lish ship  in  their  own  language,  they  were  aware 
that  they  were  watched  with  suspicion  by  one  of 
the  mariners.  The  most  villainous-looking  man,  so 
Bienville  told  me,  that  be  had  ever  seen.  On  calling 
de  Lancey's  attention  to  him  the  young  Iluguenot 
had  explained  that  the  man  had  shipped  with  them 
in  England  as  pilot  on  his  profession  that  he  was  a 
seaman  and  had  knowledge  of  these  waters.  "I 
protested,"  said  Bienville,  "  that  the  man  could  not 
be  trusted  to  steer  straight,  as  he  wan  cross- 
eyed- -" 

"I  knew  it,  I  knew  it,"  I  exclaimed;  "it  was 
'  English  Jem ' ;  we  suspected  that  he  had  escaped  to 
England." 

"  Yes,  De  Lancey  called  him  Jem,"  said  Bienville, 
"  and  I  am  coming  to  the  most  remarkable  part  of 
the  story.  The  man  now  came  forward  and  told 
me  in  broken  French  that  it  was  of  no  use  for  us  to 
try  to  conciliate  the  river  tribes,  for  he  possessed  a 
talisman  which  would  make  them  recognize  him  as 
the  rightful  monarch  of  the  Great  River.  I  pre- 
tended incredulity,  whereupon  he  displayed  the 
great  opal  which  you  saw  at  your  friend's  shop  in 


WEENONAH.  97 

Paris  and  tried  to  secure  for  me  before  I  left 
France." 

"Impossible!"  I  cried;  "Hiems  cannot  possess 
the  great  opal !  The  King  has  proof  that  Fra  Luis 
de  Riola  carried  it  into  Spain." 

"  Nevertheless,"  replied  Bienville,  "  I  recognized 
it  from  your  description,  and  it  came  back  to  me 
that  this  was  the  footpad  that  assaulted  you  as  you 
came  out  of  Colin's  shop.  I  was  sure  that  he  came 
by  the  gem  in  no  lawful  way  and  I  charged  him 
with  stealing  it." 

"  You  might  have  charged  him  with  murder,"  I 
said,  and  I  told  Bienville  how  Liotot  met  his  death. 

"I  believe  you  are  right  and  that  the  villain 
killed  him,"  said  Bienville  thoughtfully,  "for  his 
teeth  chattered  when  I  mentioned  Liotot's  name ; 
but  he  insisted  that  he  knew  nothing  of  Liotot 
further  than  that  he  had  disposed  of  the  opal  to 
Colin  the  jeweler,  from  whom  he — that  is  English 
Jem — obtained  it." 

Suddenly  I  remembered  the  imitation  opal  which 
Colin  had  cut  for  the  Jesuit  and  which  disappeared 
on  the  night  of  the  murder.  Hiems'  face  too,  seen 
by  Colin  at  the  window,  and  I  exclaimed,  "  I  have 
it  all  now — Hiems  killed  Liotot,  but  not  finding  the 
opal  in  his  belongings  never  thought  to  look  for  it 
close  to  the  knife ;  and  passing  Colin's  shop  saw  the 


98  MARGARITA. 

duplicate  gem  in  the  window,  broke  the  pane  and 
possessed  himself  of  the  imitation  stone,  thinking  it 
the  real  one.  You  need  trouble  yourself  not  one 
whit  about  Hiems,  for  if  he  presents  it  to  the 
Natchez  he  will  only  insure  his  own  destruction. 
Fra  Luis  has  the  real  talisman,  and  Fra  Luis  I  will 
find." 

"  Hiems  evidently  will  persevere,"  said  Bienville, 
"  for  he  told  Captain  that  there  were  other  points 
where  he  could  land  and  march  to  the  Natchez 
country  by  land.  Captain  Banks,  however,  shook 
his  head,  and  bade  me  farewell  in  friendly  fashion, 
assuring  me  that  he  had  no  desire  to  assume 
hostilities  with  my  brother  d'Iberville." 

When  we  talked  this  over  with  d'Iberville  he  was 
well  pleased  that  Bienville  had  been  able  to  turn 
the  English  away.  But  he  had  no  faith  that 
his  own  reputation  alone  would  deter  them 
from  making  future  attempts. 

"  We  shall  have  fighting  with  them  yet,"  he  said, 
"  and  with  those  rascally  Spaniards  too,  the  prize  is 
too  great  for  either  of  them  to  relinquish  it  so 
easily.  I  begged  the  King,  when  I  was  in  France, 
to  let  me  smoke  the  Spanish  hornets  out  of  their 
nest  at  Pensacola.  I  represented  to  him  how  mis- 
erably it  is  manned  and  how  easily  we  could  take 
that  fort,  the  only  one  on  the  northern  side  of  the 


WEENONAH.  99 

Gulf  of  Mexico.  He  listened  very  attentively  to  all 
I  had  to  say,  and  was  glad  that  I  had  reconnoitred 
it  on  my  way  here,  but  he  cautioned  me  not  to  pro- 
voke hostilities,  even  though  sure  of  victory.  He 
has  evidently  some  plan  on  foot  for  a  treaty  with 
Spain.  Meantime  we  must  be  on  our  guard,  and 
strengthen  ourselves  with  the  Indians.  When 
spring  opens  we  will  secure  the  Natchez  and 
explore  the  Eed  Kiver." 

Father  Montigny  had  told  Bienville  much  of  the 
Tensas  where  he  had  opened  his  mission.  They 
were  related  to  the  Natchez,  and  were  situated  a 
little  further  up  the  river.  They  had  the  same 
religion,  were  sun  worshippers,  and  the  great 
medicine  man  of  the  united  clans  lived  in  their 
village.  They  were  more  fanatical  than  the 
Natchez  but  less  powerful.  The  chief  of  the 
Natchez,  whose  name  was  The  Great  Sun,  was  a 
remarkable  man,  but  he  was  no  longer  young,  and 
his  sister  Weenonah  had  not  married,  though 
she  was  seventeen,  for  the  tribe  were  looking 
for  the  appearance  of  some  great  chieftain 
who  would  bring  the  magic-stone  and  claim  her 
hand. 

The  medicine  man,  Stinging  Serpent,  and  Father 
Montigny  were  rivals,  and  the  good  Father  thought 
that  he  was  gaining  converts,  for  he  had  baptized 


100  MARGARITA. 

many  children  and  the  people  had  refused  that 
year  to  offer  human  sacrifices.  Stinging  Serpent, 
feeling  his  influence  going,  hated  Father  Montigny 
and  strove  to  influence  his  people  against  the 
French,  but  The  Great  Sun  had  entertained  Tonty 
in  his  goings  and  comings  in  search  of  La  Salle, 
and  admired  him  greatly. 

When  d'Iberville  heard  all  this  he  was  extremely 
anxious  to  secure  the  friendship  of  The  Great  Sun, 
and  to  follow  out  the  wish  of  Louis  XIV  to  estab- 
lish me  as  chief  over  the  nation,  before  the  emis- 
saries of  the  English  should  obtain  any  foothold 
among  them.  Other  matters  were  more  pressing 
for  the  moment,  but  early  one  morning  in  the 
spring  I  was  awakened  by  huzzas  and  shouts  of 
joy,  and,  hastily  dressing,  I  hurried  to  d'Iberville'B 
quarters  to  find  (what  I  had  already  guessed,  for 
nothing  else  could  have  created  such  tumultuous 
enthusiasm),  that  Tonty  had  arrived 

Father  Montigny,  had  sent  an  Indian  messenger 
to  the  Illinois  and  Tonty  had  set  out  at  once  with 
a  band  of  his  coureurs  de  boi*.  He  had  stopped  to 
visit  Montigny,  and  the  Natchez  chief  had  accom- 
panied him  with  a  train  of  canoes.  The  Great  Sun 
came  to  pay  his  respects  to  d'Iberville  in  full 
panoply.  Two  warriors  strode  before  him  carrying 
burnished  copper  disks  emblematical  of  the  sun, 


WEENONAH.  101 

while  the  chief's  eyes  were  shaded  from  its  re- 
flected glare  by  two  fan-bearers. 

The  Great  Sun  was  a  noble  appearing  Indian 
very  dignified  and  grave.  D'Iberville  presented 
him  with  an  iron  calumet  which  he  had  had  fash- 
ioned in  France,  the  bowl  representing  a  French 
frigate  flying  the  fleur  de  lys, — and  the  Indians 
were  assigned  a  camping-ground  and  entertained 
hospitably.  It  was  a  great  delight  to  the  two 
brothers  Le  Moyne  to  see  their  friend  once  more, 
but  strangely  enough  Tonty  seemed  more  attracted 
by  the  younger,  and  was  never  tired  of  expressing 
his  surprise  and  pleasure  that  Bienville,  whom  he 
remembered  as  a  sturdy  little  boy  in  Canada,  had 
developed  into  such  a  fine,  manly  fellow. 

The  three  talked  over  their  past  experiences  and 
their  future  plans.  What  had  seemed  insurmount- 
able difficulties  melted  away  before  this  resourceful, 
resolute  man.  The  Mississippi  should  be  French 
from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  the  three  would  hold 
it  against  all  comers.  He  reinforced  d'Iberville's 
opinion  of  the  necessity  of  making  allies  of  the 
Natchez.  They  controlled  the  central  portion  of  the 
great  valley  with  the  waterways  of  the  Ohio  and 
its  tributary,  the  Tennessee,  on  the  east  from 
which  the  encroachments  of  the  English  might  be 
expected,  and  the  Sasseno-cogoula,  the  Ked  or 


102  MARGARITA. 

Bloody  River,  which  so  far  had  been  the  northern 
boundary  of  Spanish  settlement.  There  was  no 
time  to  be  lost  in  cementing  a  friendship  with  The 
Great  Sun.  Accordingly  as  the  chief  could  not  be 
induced  to  lodge  witjhin  our  fort,  we  went  into  the 
woods  and  camped  with  him,  spending  the  days  in 
hunting  and  the  evenings  in  smoking  the  calumet 
and  feasting. 

The  chiefs  sister,  Weenonah,  was  a  modest  young 
woman,  by  far  the  most  attractive  Indian  girl  that 
I  ever  saw.  She  wore  a  long  fringed  robe  of 
dressed  deer-skin,  embroidered  with  blue  quill  work. 
Her  ornaments  were  strings  of  fresh  water  pearls 
and  turquoises  with  silver  armlets,  and  her  hair, 
which  was  very  beautiful,  was  neatly  braided. 

Tonty  and  Bienville  could  speak  the  Natchez 
language  and  enjoyed  talking  with  her,  for  she  had 
a  lively  intelligence.  She  served  us  at  our  rude 
banquets,  adding  to  our  French  dishes  bowls  of 
hominy  and  venison  broth  cooked  by  her  own  hands, 
and  with  a  feather  fan  kept  away  the  gnats  and 
mosquitoes  which  settled  about  us  in  vicious  hordes. 

This  was  the  torment  of  the  luxuriant  damp  woods 
which,  with  their  rich  growth  of  semi-tropical 
flowers  would  have  been  a  Paradise  but  for  these 
unendurable  pests. 

One  night  I  especially  remember  when  the  mos- 


"THE  CHIEF'S  SISTER,  WEENONAH' 


WEENONAH.  103 

quitoes  stung  so  viciously  that  we  could  not  sleep, 
and  Tonty,  Bienville  and  I  crept  out  of  our  tents 
and  sat  together  by  the  camp-fire  smoking,  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  keep  them  off. 

Weenonah  heard  us  complaining,  and  lifting  the 
flap  of  her  lodge  door  asked  what  was  the  matter. 

"  It  is  these  terrible  little  beasts,"  grumbled  Bien- 
ville, slapping  his  face  energetically  and  so  slaying 
a  few. 

Weenonah  laughed  musically.  "  I  heard  a  growl- 
ing as  of  bears,"  she  said,  "and  a  slapping  as 
though  you  were  quarreling  among  yourselves. 
Surely  such  braves  as  you  are  care  nothing  for  such 
slight  vexations ! " 

"  Bienville  and  St.  Denis  are  newly  come  to  the 
woods,"  said  Tonty ;  "  their  flesh  is  soft  like  that  of 
babies;  it  has  not  been  tanned  by  long  exposure 
like  my  own,  and  yet  I  confess  that  I  suffer  more 
from  the  venom  of  these  pestiferous  insects  than  it 
has  ever  been  my  lot  in  the  Illinois.  Have  you  no 
herbs  to  drive  them  away,  or  at  least  to  lessen 
the  smart  ?  " 

"  If  you  will  hold  a  torch  I  will  find  some,"  she 
replied,  and  Tonty  caught  up  a  brand  from  the  fire 
and  followed  her  a  short  distance  into  the  wood. 
She  returned  with  her  hands  filled  with  penny- 
royal, which  she  proceeded  to  crush  between  two 


104  MARGARITA. 

stones,  and  then  she  gentty  rubbed  our  faces  and 
hands  with  the  pungent  leaves.  Her  touch  was 
soft  and  caressing ;  for  my  part  I  had  wished  the 
anointing  a  longer  operation. 

"  They  are  little  demons,"  said  Bienville.  "  I  am 
not  city-bred  like  St.  Denis,  but  I  have  never  Been 
mosquitoes  like  these  in  Canada.  They  are  surely 
the  children  of  the  devil." 

"  On  the  contrary,"  Weenonah  replied  positively, 
"they  are  the  magic  children  of  a  beautiful  and 
lovely  princess,  and  were  created  to  show  the  differ- 
ence between  true  lovers  and  false  ones." 

"Another  reason  against  falling  in  love,"  said 
Tonty.  "I  knew  that  it  brought  all  manner  of 
plagues,  but  I  had  not  reckoned  on  mosquitoes." 

"What  is  the  story?"  asked  Bienville.  "I 
should  like  to  know  whether  I  could  be  a  true 
lover." 

"  I  thought  every  one  knew  that  story,"  Weenonah 
replied  scornfully.  "My  mother  told  it  to  me 
when  I  was  little  more  than  a  pappoose.  '  Never 
wed  with  a  man  who  minds  mosquitoes,  Nona,1 
she  would  say,  'for  if  he  quails  before  so  slight  an 
ordeal  as  that,  how  will  he  endure  marriage  ? f " 

"  Your  mother  was  doubtless  right,"  I  said,  "  but 
tell  us  the  story,  and  in  the  meantime  put  some  of 
that  herb  of  grace  on  the  back  of  my  neck." 


WEENONAH.  105 

Flitting  between  us,  patting,  stroking  first  one 
and  then  the  other  as  naively  and  innocently  as 
though  we  were  three  children  confided  to  her  care, 
Weenonah  told  us  the  legend1  and  from  time  to 
time  Bienville  translated  it  for  my  benefit. 

THE  LEGEND  OF  THE  TRIAL  OF  TRUE  LOVERS. 

Many  years  ago  there  lived  in  the  far  western 
country  at  the  Pueblo  of  Matsaki  a  beautiful 
maiden  who  had  many  lovers,  but  who  would  none 
of  them.  When  the  youths  came  to  woo  her,  her 
parents  received  them  kindly,  and  bade  her  listen 
to  them,  but  the  condition  which  she  set  was  too 
hard  for  them  all. 

It  was  that  the  man  who  should  win  her  must  hoe 
her  corn-field  between  the  rising  and  the  setting  of 
the  sun.  Many  eagerly  began  the  task  but  they  in- 
variably gave  it  up  in  despair,  no  matter  with  what 
enthusiasm  they  began  the  task.  For  the  maid  of 
Matsaki  as  soon  as  they  were  well  at  work  would 
lift  the  cover  from  a  great  water-jar  in  her  home 
and  call : 

"  Come,  my  little  children,  fly  and  bite  my  lover. 
Bite  and  sting  him  well,  and  let  me  know  whether 
he  loves  me  truly." 

1Tliis  legend  is  abridged  from  the  very  beautiful  rendering  given 
in  the  opening  chapter  of  Mr.  Frank  Hamilton  Cushing's  Zuni 
Folk  Tales. 


106  MARGARITA. 

Then  from  the  jar  would  issue  swarms  of  mos- 
quitoes who  would  fly  to  the  corn-field  and  settle 
on  the  unhappy  lover,  and  that  was  the  end  of  his 
labors. 

"  What  an  abominable  girl,"  I  cried,  "  and  you 
called  her  lovely!  I  trust  she  remained  an  old 
maid  to  the  end  of  her  days.  It  would  have  served 
her  jolly  right." 

"I  do  not  think  the  ordeal  too  great,"  mused 
Bienville;  "for  if  a  man  really  loves  a  woman  he 
will  die  for  her,  and,  if  she  is  the  right  kind,  she  is 
worth  it." 

"Weenonah  looked  at  him  approvingly.  "And 
you,  Monsieur,"  she  asked  of  Tonty,  u  what  is  your 
opinion  ?  " 

"  Lovers  who  die,  and  lovers  who  give  up  are  a 
poor  lot,"  he  said  meditatively,  blowing  rings  of 
smoke  into  the  air.  "  He  should  have  devised  some 
way  to  get  the  better  of  those  mosquitoes.  Was 
there  no  pennyroyal  in  that  region  ?  " 

The  girl's  eyes  flashed  admiration.  "  So  is  it  in 
the  opinion  of  the  gods  and  of  us  maidens.  No 
pennyroyal  grew  in  that  land,  but  finger-weed, 
something  at  once  worse  and  better.  Thus  it  hap- 
pened that  when  at  last  the  chosen  youth  went  to 
woo  her,  he  carried  with  him  of  this  weed,  and 
rubbed  himself  therewith.  Now  the  maid  when 


WEENONAH.  107 

she  saw  him,  loved  him,  and  was  loth  to  set  her 
little  children  upon  him.  But  she  did  it  all  the 
same,  hoping  in  her  inmost  heart  that  he  would 
persevere;  and  so  he  did,  for,  protected  by  the 
herb— he  laughed  at  the  mosquitoes  and  cried  in 
his  heart,  '  My  beautiful,  my  wife.' 

"  And  her  heart  heard  him,  though  he  had  not 
spoken  with  .his  lips,  and  she  answered,  '  My  true 
lover,  my  husband ! ' 

"A  very  good  story,"  said  Tonty,  "and  one  that 
I  greatly  approve.  Strategy  combined  with  cour- 
age had  their  deserved  reward." 

"Alas,  no,  Monsieur,  for  the  gods  were  angry 
that  the  young  man  had  won  the  maiden  by  fraud, 
not  having  really  endured  the  ordeal,  and  they  gave 
him  another  much  harder  to  bear — for  the  maiden 
died  before  their  wedding  day.  As  he  knelt  over 
her  in  anguish  she  said  to  him  faintly  ere  she  died, 
— '  Alas  1  alas,  my  husband,  for  now  I  go  away,  and 
where  I  go  you  may  not  follow.' 

" '  Alas !  alas,  my  beautiful  bride,  my  wife !  But 
where  you  go  I  shall  follow,  be  it  to  the  land  be- 
yond death.' 

"  '  Be  it  so,'  she  answered,  *  but  it  is  a  long  jour- 
bey,  and  ghosts  are  invisible.  Therefore  tie  a 
prayer  plume  to  my  forehead,  and  you  shall  see  it 
beckoning  to  you  though  me  you  may  not  see.' 


108  MARGARITA. 

"The  youth  did  so,  and  presently  the  maid 
faded  from  his  view ;  but  the  feather  rose  lightly 
in  the  air  and  danced  and  floated  before  him.  For 
many  moons,  through  many  dreary  lands  he  fol- 
lowed it, — an  eagle's  feather  by  day,  a  little  will- 
o'-the-wisp  flame  by  night;  through  parching 
deserts,  across  horrid  gorges,  and  deep  rivers,  up 
stony  mountains,  and  through  deep  snows.  He 
was  famishing,  weary  to  death  and  despondent,  he 
was  in  anguish  of  body  and  mind ;  but  still  he  fol- 
lowed, on  and  on,  till  he  came  to  a  lake.  Over  its 
surface  the  light  flickered,  and  then  it  descended 
and  was  extinguished.  The  young  man  strove  to 
throw  himself  into  the  lake,  but  at  first  he  could 
not,  for  he  realized  that  this  was  death,  and  in  the 
midst  of  his  sufferings  life  was  still  strong  within 
him.  But  he  heard  a  voice,  deep  in  the  lake,  faintly 
sighing,— ' Alas !  Alas!  my  lover  loved  me  not,' 
and  with  a  great  cry — *  Alas !  my  beautiful  wife,  I 
loved  you,  I  love  you,  I  will  love  you  in  life  and  in 
death,'  he  flung  himself  into  the  loathly  lake. 

"  It  is  not  permitted  to  tell  what  happened  to  him 
in  the  under  world,  but  the  Lord  of  Life  was  so 
touched  by  his  devotion  that  he  permitted  him  to 
retrace  the  toilsome  journey,  followed  by  his  be- 
loved one.  But  one  condition  was  imposed.  Ho 
must  not  kiss  her  until  their  feet  touched  the 


WEENONAH.  109 

great  Thunder  Mountain,  on  which  is  the  pueblo 
of  Zuni,  which  was  his  home.  So  they  journeyed, 
and  ever  he  heard  her  footsteps  pattering  behind 
him ;  but  he  exercised  great  self-control,  and  never 
looked  backward  until  they  began  to  climb  the 
steep  mountain.  Then  she  cried  to  him  faintly, — 
'  Alas,  my  beloved,  I  am  weary  and  must  sleep.' 

"  So  they  camped  for  the  night,  and  the  youth  rose 
and  looked  upon  her,  and  she  was  so  lovely  in  her 
sleep  that  his  resolution  melted  before  the  fire  of 
his  love  and  he  kissed  her  softly.  Then  she  awoke 
crying,  'Alas!  my  lover  loved  me  not,  for  they 
who  love  can  wait,'  and  so  wailing  she  vanished 
from  his  sight." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Bienville.  "  They  who  truly 
love  can  wait,  but  the  trial  must  be  harder  than  all 
the  exploits  of  action  that  were  ever  achieved  by 
heroes — yes,  harder  than  death  itself." 

"  What  do  you  know  of  waiting  ?  "  asked  Tonty. 
"  You,  who  are  but  a  boy." 

Bienville  flushed  hotly  but  did  not  reply.  He 
was  to  prove  his  love  by  longer  waiting  than  he 
knew,  but  there  was  granted  him  then,  in  the 
impatient  season  of  youth,  the  consciousness  that 
love  obliterates  time,  that  his  heart  was  strong 
enough  for  a  lifetime  of  waiting, — if  only  the 
assurance  could  be  granted  him  of  winning  at  the  last. 


110  MARGARITA. 

As  for  me,  in  my  ignorance  and  conceit  I  pitied 
him,  as  we  do  one  bewitched,  and  retiring  to  my 
tent  I  fell  asleep  thanking  heaven  that  I  could 
never  be  such  a  fool. 

We  were  loth  to  let  Tonty  return  to  his  rock  but 
he  felt  that  he  must  go,  and  as  The  Great  Sun  urged 
us  to  return  his  visit,  we  determined  to  accompany 
Tonty  as  far  as  the  Natchez  country  and  avail  our- 
selves of  his  influence  with  the  Indians  in  making 
a  treaty. 

Paddled  by  Bienville's  Canadians  and  Tonty's 
Indians,  our  canoes  made  a  long  and  imposing 
procession  as  they  made  their  way  up  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  chief  town  of  the  Natchez.  The  news 
had  outstripped  us  and  the  tribe  was  at  the  landing 
to  meet  us.  We  were  feasted  with  stewed  venison 
and  roasted  dog  and  tender  ears  of  corn.  D'lber- 
ville  made  generous  presents  and  both  Bienville  and 
Tonty  smoked  the  calumet  of  peace  and  made  long 
speeches  in  the  dialect  which  they  had  mastered. 
I  sat  stupidly  enough  through  it  all,  but  I  smoked 
the  pipe  when  it  was  passed  me,  and  nodded 
vigorously  as  d'lberville  did,  in  approbation  of 
everything  which  Tonty  and  Bienville  said. 

There  was  one  Indian  to  whom  as  much  deference 
was  paid  as  to  the  chieftain,  but  whose  looks  I  did 
not  like.  This  was  the  old  medicine  man,  Stinging 


WEENONAB.  Ill 

Serpent,  a  dirty,  disgusting  creature,  with  as 
repellent  an  expression  as  I  ever  saw  on  any  hu- 
man face  excepting  that  of  Hiems.  He  had  at- 
tempted to  cram  my  mouth  with  a  handful  of  roast 
dog,  which  hospitable  attention  I  had  declined,  and 
he  glared  at  me  through  the  remainder  of  the  feast 
with  revengeful  animosity.  Suddenly,  for  no 
reason  that  I  could  understand,  he  shook  his  gourd 
rattle  at  me  defiantly,  and  springing  up  harangued 
the  chief  and  the  assembly  generally.  Weenonah 
instantly  left  her  brother  and  placed  herself  beside 
Tonty,  taking  his  hand  in  hers. 

"What  does  the  old  beggar  say?"  I  asked  of 
Tonty. 

"  He  says  that  no  one  can  be  adopted  as  chieftain 
of  their  tribe,  until  he  presents  the  fragment  which 
was  broken  from  the  great  medicine  fire-stone  in 
the  mouth  of  their  goddess-ancestress,  of  whose 
temple  he  is  the  guardian.  He  says  that  he  has 
heard  from  some  Chickasaw  Indians  that  an  Eng- 
lishman has  appeared  in  their  country  to  the  east 
of  the  Natchez,  who  has  shown  them  this  talisman, 
and  has  declared  that  he  is  coming  to  request  adop- 
tion by  The  Great  Sun.  He  will  be  easily  known, 
so  the  Chickasaws  say,  for  his  eyes  will  look  in  two 
ways  as  fhe  medicine  man  is  looking  now." 

I    stared    in   amazement,    for    the   wretch  was 


112  MARQARITA. 

squinting  in  exact  imitation  of  Hiems.  "Tell 
them,"  I  said  to  Tonty,  "  that  the  Squinting  One  is 
the  devil  in  disguise ;  that  the  stone  which  he  will 
bring  is  not  the  true  talisman,  but  an  imitation,  a 
forgery ;  but  that  I  know  where  the  real  fire-opal 
is,  and  that  in  two  years  at  latest  I  will  come  again 
with  it,  and  take  my  place  among  them.'1 

Tonty  spoke  long  and  persuasively,  and  I  could 
see  that  he  gained  their  confidence,  and  that  the 
medicine  man  was  completely  routed,  for  though  he 
seized  a  fire  brand  and  shook  it  threateningly,  he  was 
promptly  led  from  the  council  by  the  chiefs  guards. 
When  he  had  left  the  assembly  the  chief  shook 
hands  with  me  solemnly,  calling  me  u Brother"; 
then  taking  an  imaginary  babe  from  my  arms  he 
rocked  it  in  his  own,  and  lifting  his  feather  crown 
from  his  own  head  feigned  to  place  it  on  that  of  t  h<< 
infant,  finally  lying  down  with  closed  eyes,  he  an- 
nounced by  this  expressive  pantomime  that  a  child 
of  mine  should  reign  over  his  people  when  he  was 
dead. 

Weenonah,  who  had  heretofore  seemed  to  be  my 
friend,  appeared  to  be  seized  with  a  most  unac- 
countable frenzy.  She  sprang  into  the  circle  and 
made  violent  gestures  of  disapproval,  alternately 
addressing  her  brother  and  Tonty  sometimes  scorn- 
fully, sometimes  appealingly. 


WEENONAH.  113 

Tonty  seemed  much  moved  and  attempted  to 
soothe  the  girl,  but  she  drew  her  blanket  over  her 
head  and  glided  away.  Bienville  made  the  conclu- 
ding speech,  placing  my  hand  in  that  of  the  chief- 
tain, after  which  we  withdrew  to  our  camp. 

"  Will  you  kindly  explain  to  me  what  this  is  all 
about  ?  "  I  asked,  as  Bienville  congratulated  me  on 
the  success  of  the  conference. 

"  I  thought  you  understood  it  all,"  Bienville  re- 
plied. "  Tonty  came  in  so  aptly  with  your  remarks 
about  the  fire-opal.  You  gained  the  day  for  us 
over  that  sneaking  medicine  man;  but  you  will 
have  to  make  good  your  promise  and  find  the  talis- 
man. Then  you  can  come  back  sure  of  an  enthusi- 
astic reception,  for  the  chief  has  granted  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  river,  where  his  Indians  under  my  direc- 
tion are  to  set  about  building  a  fort  which  you  will 
command,  and  where  you  will  have  feudal  rights, 
from  the  King  of  France  over  all  the  Natchez 
country.  His  Majesty  can  do  no  less  than  ennoble 
you,  since  you  have  so  exactly  carried  out  his 
wishes,  securing  not  only  the  Indian  alliance,  but 
this  strategic  point  which  makes  us  masters,  keep- 
ing back  the  English  from  any  foothold  on  the 
middle  Mississippi.  It  also  makes  it  easy  for  you  to 
take  possession  of  the  Red  River  with  all  that 
region  of  mines  which  the  Spaniards  now  hold.  It 


114  MARGARITA. 

is  a  little  kingdom,  and  if  you  are  not  exactly  King 
you  are  to  be  the  founder  of  a  dynasty.  I  will  see 
that  you  are  supplied  with  all  the  comforts  of  the 
old  world.  You  will  have  your  great  barge  with 
Indian  rowers  and  will  visit  Tonty  in  the  north  and 
me  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  We  will  have  rare 
hunting  parties  together,  camping  under  the  open, 
exploring,  trading,  discovering,  and  in  case  of  war 
will  support  one  another.  You  have  heard  Tonty 
say  that  he  would  not  exchange  this  free,  wild  life 
for  that  of  Versailles.  How  does  my  lord  Baron 
de  St.  Denis,  King  Consort  of  the  Natchez,  like  the 
prospect?" 

"I  like  it  well,"  I  replied.  "I  too  am  sick  of 
courts.  I  can  imagine  nothing  more  delightful  than 
the  life  of  Tonty  on  his  Rock." 

"  You  will  have  a  happier  life  than  mine,"  Tonty 
said,  "for  you  will  not  be  alone;  you  have  your 
Princess." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  I  cried.  "  The  name  of 
the  Princess  of  Conti  has  been  most  slanderously 
connected  with  mine.  It  is  all  a  base,  malicious 
lie." 

"Who  said  the  Princess  of  Conti?"  asked  Bien- 
ville.  "  Tonty  means  Weenonah,  to  whom  you  have 
just  been  betrothed,  and  to  whom  you  will  be  mar- 
ried when  you  come  again  with  the  fire-opal." 


WEENONAH.  115 

"  Weenonah ! "  I  cried.  "  Good  Heavens  1  /marry 
Weenonah ! " 

"Certainly,  man,"  Tonty  replied  drily.  "Why 
not  ?  I  have  known  many  a  coureur  de  bois  happy 
with  his  Indian  wife,  and  I  never  met  a  more  lov- 
able Indian  maid  than  Weenonah.  You  may  count 
yourself  very  fortunate  if  she  overcomes  her  present 
repugnance  and  consents  to  be  your  wife." 

"Repugnance!  Weenonah  objects  to  marrying 
me  !"  I  exclaimed  in  great  surprise  and  not  a  little 
mortification. 

"  Strenuously,"  Tonty  replied  curtly ;  "  she  even 
went  so  far  as  to  say  that  she  would  die  first." 

"  I  don't  believe  she  would  do  that,"  said  Bien- 
ville  cheerfully.  "  St.  Denis  can  make  himself  quite 
engaging,  when  he  tries.  Exert  yourself,  my  dear 
fellow.  Display  some  of  the  fascinations  which 
made  a  certain  exalted  personage  so  jealous  of  you ; 
and  when  Tonty  has  gone  Weenonah  will  succumb 
to  your  attractions." 

"  So ! "  I  exclaimed,  a  light  breaking  in  upon  me, 
"  Weenonah  prefers  you,  Tonty.  I  don't  blame  her ; 
all  the  women  do.  I  never  told  you,  but  Made- 
moiselle de  Cadillac  is  in  love  with  you  through 
Bienville's  description.  ' 

"  Nonsense,"  exclaimed  Tonty,  "  a  fig  for  Made- 
moiselle de  Cadillac,  or  your  Princess  of  Conti,  or 


116  MARGARITA. 

any  other  of  your  fine  ladies.  Weenonah  is  worth 
them  all,  and  if  St.  Denis  is  such  an  arrant  ass  as 
not  to  appreciate  her,  I  have  a  mind  to  marry  her 
myself." 

"  No,  Tonty,  no,"  cried  Bienville  with  real  pain  in 
his  voice, — "  that  would  never  do.  Don't  you  see 
you  could  not  leave  your  Rock  to  hold  this  post.  It 
is  the  King's  wish  that  St.  Denis  should  establish 
himself  here.  Besides— some  day  you  may  see 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac,  and  if  it  is  true  as  St. 
Denis  says  that  she  loves  you,  and  I  believe  in  my 

soul  that  she  does,  then "  his  voice  broke  for  an 

instant  but  he  braced  himself  and  went  on  steadily, 
— u  then  Tonty,  there  is  no  other  woman  in  all  the 
world  whom  I  believe  so  worthy  to  be  your  wife, 
and  no  other  man  to  whom  I  would  resign  her." 

Tonty  put  his  arm  around  Bienville  and  looked 
into  his  eyes.  "Don't  resign  her,"  he  said.  "I 
shall  never  love  any  woman,  and  love  like  yours 
will  surely  win  in  the  end.  A*  for  St.  Denis  here, 
he  could  love  any  one,  and  I  have  no  doubt  tkat 
Weenonah  will  have  a  devoted  husband,  and  that 
the  Baroness  de  8t  Denis  will  be  a  happy  wife." 

I  could  not  be  seriously  angry  with  Tonty,  and 
yet  his  words  stung  me.  I  stormed  and  blustered. 
Was  I  of  so  shallow  and  light  a  nature  that  I  could 
be  satisfied  with  a  marriage  like  this  ?  I  had  never 


WEENONAH.  117 

suspected  that  my  kingdom  was  to  be  purchased  at 
such  a  price.  Did  they  suppose  that  I,  the  spoiled 
dandy  of  the  court  who  had  flirted  with  the  most 
elegant  women  of  the  most  refined  aristocracy  of 
Europe,  could  find  an  Indian  squaw  endurable? 
And  yet  while  I  ranted  I  knew,  and  they  knew, 
that  ray  indignation  was  not  deep.  Ignorant 
creature  that  I  was,  I  had  never  known  true  love. 
I  matched  all  civilized  women  with  the  Princess  of 
Conti,  and  thought  them  all  vain,  fond  of  pleasure 
and  luxury  as  kittens,  mad  for  admiration,  bewitch- 
ing in  their  prettiness,  but  all  heartless  coquettes. 
Weenonah,  simple  child  of  the  forest  that  she  \vas, 
had  a  native  dignity  that  was  better  than  high 
breeding,  an  intelligence  which  seemed  to  promise 
a  capability  for  education,  a  sweet  serviceableness 
which  might  blossom  into  self-sacrificing  devotion, 
and  at  times  a  merry  smile  that  was  very  winsome. 
No,  it  might  have  been  far  worse ;  as  I  thought  of 
her,  the  feeling  of  repulsion  which  I  had  expe- 
rienced on  being  told  that  I  was  betrothed  to  her 
gave  way  to  one  of  pique  that  she  had  not  found 
me  irresistible.  "  I  will  pay  you  for  this  disdain, 
my  lady,"  I  said  to  myself ;  "only  wait  until  I  find 
the  opal,  then  we  will  see  if  I  am  to  be  scorned  by 
an  Indian  squaw." 
Jallot  fed  fuel  to  the  flame  of  my  mortification. 


118  MARGARITA. 

"  What ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  this  savagess  disdains 
my  master!  The  darling  of  the  ladies  of  the 
court,  whose  requests  for  a  lock  of  his  hair,  if  all 
granted,  would  have  ruined  the  most  luxuriant  of 
his  wigs!  Think  of  that  casket  of  billet-doux, 
Monsieur,  which  you  had  me  burn  when  you  left 
your  old  lodgings  in  Paris.  Think  of  the  infatua- 
tion of  the  Princess,  of  the  devotion  of  Made- 
moiselle de  Cadillac." 

"Nay,"  I  cried,  "she  at  least  never  cared  for 
me." 

"  She  was  your  friend,  Monsieur,  when  those  who 
appeared  to  love  you  forsook  you.  It  was  she  who 
sent  me  the  patronage  of  Monsieur  Crozat  who, 
with  Monsieur  Law,  made  me  the  most  popular 
barber  in  Paris.  You  never  knew  it,  sir,  but  I  was 
approached  by  the  head  valet  of  the  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, and  had  an  opportunity  of  entering  his  high- 
ness' service ;  but  I  preferred  to  follow  you  to  the 
wilderness.  And  to  see  you  scorned  by  a  little 
wench  who  has  not  the  sense  to  dress  her  hair  in  a 
becoming — to  say  nothing  of  a  fashionable  man- 
ner ! " 

The  effect  of  Jallot's  chatter  was  to  waken  in 
me  an  absurd  determination  to  make  this  difficult 
beauty  change  her  ill  opinion  of  me,  and  when  the 
morning  dawned  and  Bienville  suggested  that  we 


WEENONAH.  119 

set  out  at  once  to  explore  my  new  kingdom  in  the 
direction  of  the  Spanish  possessions,  I  was  ready 
for  the  difficult  enterprise  of  ascending  the  Sasseno- 
cogoula  so  rightly  named  by  the  Indians,  The  Red 
or  Bloody  Eiver. 

Tonty  and  our  train  of  Indians  accompanied  us. 
We  paddled  beyond  a  stretch  of  small  lakes  and 
reached  the  country  of  the  Natchitoches,  with 
whom  we  held  a  council. 

They  informed  us  that  the  Spaniards  had  again 
formed  settlements  in  the  west  along  the  course  of 
the  Eio  Grande,  whence  they  had  been  driven  by 
an  insurrection  of  the  Indians  some  twenty  years 
previous.  Tonty  impressed  the  Natchitoches  with 
the  fact  that,  though  France  was  at  peace  with 
Spain,  that  the  French  would  not  allow  the  Span- 
iards to  invade  the  Red  River  country,  and  that,  if 
the  Natchitoches  wished  for  the  friendship  of  the 
French,  they  must  have  no  dealings  with  the  Span- 
iards, bub  bring  all  their  peltries  down  the  Red 
River  to  the  Mississippi.  The  chief  of  the  Natchi- 
toches complained  that  the  way  was  long,  and 
begged  that  the  French  would  come  to  them  to 
trade. 

This  was  exactly  what  Tonty  wished,  and, 
promising  that  a  trading-post  should  be  built  the 
following  season  on  an  island  which  he  had  pre- 


120  MARGARITA. 

viously  selected  as  an  admirable  strategic  point,  we 
returned  from  this  first  voyage  of  exploration. 

Tonty  advised  that  I  should  lose  no  time  in  erect- 
ing and  garrisoning  a  fort  on  this  western  frontier 
which  was  likely  to  be  so  soon  disputed  by  the 
Spaniards,  while  Bienville  must  see  to  building  one 
on  the  Mississippi  on  the  land  granted  by  the 
Natchez.  He  himself  would  endeavor  to  induce 
the  Chickasaws  to  have  no  dealings  with  the  Eng- 
lish, until  we  were  strong  enough  to  defy  them. 
So  we  descended  the  Red  River  together  and 
parted  where  it  empties  into  the  Mississippi,  Tonty 
ascending  the  river  to  visit  Father  Montigny  at  his 
mission  and  to  call  there  a  council  of  the  Chickasaw 
chiefs,  and  I  descending  with  Bienville  for  mate- 
rials and  supplies  for  my  new  fortress  in  the  wilder- 
ness, which  was  also  to  be  my  base  of  operations 
and  point  of  departure  for  my  tour  through  the 
Spanish-Indian  settlements  in  search  of  Fra  Luis 
and  the  fire-opal 


CHAPTER  YIL 


MARGARITA. 

We  shall  pass  over  desolate  places,  strange  forest  and  measureless 

plain, 
And  the  moon  shall  relent  and  the  spaces  of  midnight  be  severed 

in  twain ; 
Over  meadows  that  murmur  with  fountains,  where  rivers  like 

serpents  lie  curled, 
We  shall  pass  to  the  wall  of  the  mountains,  crouched  low  on  the 

edge  of  the  world. 

— George  Cabot  Lodge. 

E  could  not  build  the 
projected  forts  as 
quickly  as  Tonty 
would  have  had  us, 
for  on  our  return  to 
Biloxi  we  were  met 
with  news,  great  news. 
The  King  of  Spain 
had  died,  and  Louis 
XIV  had  achieved  a 
design  which  he  had 
long  since  secretly 
planned^  and  had 

forced  his  grandson  upon  that  nation,  as  King  by 

right l  of  his  maternal  descent. 

1  Louis'  late  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Philip  IV  of  Spain. 
121 


122  MAEGAEITA. 

D'Iberville  was  delighted.  "  This  pacte  de  fa- 
mille  simplifies  matters,"  he  cried ;  "  for  if  France 
and  Spain  stand  together  we  can  whip  the  English 
out  of  America." 

"  Do  you  think  the  Spaniards  are  any  more  truly 
our  friends  on  account  of  this  marriage?"  Bienvillo 
asked. 

"Perhaps  not,"  d'Iberville  replied,  "but  they 
must  at  least  act  as  if  they  were  for  the  present. 
One  enemy  at  a  time  we  need  not  fear;  and  they 
hate  the  English  as  much  as  we  do  and  fear  them 
more.  I  must  go  to  France  at  once  and  see  how 
we  can  best  profit  by  this  new  turn  in  affairs. 
There  are  victories  to  be  gained  by  treaty  which 
may  be  worth  more  than  years  of  war." 

D'Iberville  had  a  magnificent  coup  in  mind.  I  It- 
would  see  Louis  XIV  and  possibly  the  young 
French  King  of  Spain,  Philip  V,  and  represent  to 
them  how  impossible  it  was  for  the  Spaniards  to 
hold  Florida  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  that  it  would  be  far  better  for  them  to 
cede  Pensacola  to  the  French  and  retire  to  their 
Mexican  possessions,  leaving  their  French  allies  to 
remain  as  a  guard  between  them  and  the  English. 
It  was  a  great  idea,  if  it  had  only  worked,  and 
d'Iberville  sailed  away  full  of  enthusiasm.  "No 
fear  of  the  English  now,"  he  said.  "  I  will  bring 


a 

g 


* 

M 

O 

I 


MARGARITA.  123 

back  a  fleet  and  with  the  Spaniards  we  will  sweep 
them  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico." 

Bienville,  however,  was  to  relax  no  effort  in  his 
absence,  and  was  immediately  to  build  a  fort  on 
Mobile  Bay  not  far  from  the  Spanish  fort  of  Pensa- 
cola.  This  was  not  so  much  as  a  menace  to  the 
Spaniards  as  to  overawe  the  Choctaw  Indians  who 
were  our  neighbors  on  the  east  and  held  the 
country  directly  south  of  the  Chickasaws. 

It  was  establishing  the  fort  at  Mobile  which  de- 
layed my  operations.  Bienville  wished  also  to 
transfer  the  establishment  at  Biloxi  to  a  new  town 
on  higher  ground  which  was  to  be  named  New 
Orleans. 

He  needed  my  assistance  and  could  not  spare  me 
men  to  build  my  Red  River  fort.  It  was  perhaps 
well  that  we  did  not  settle  at  this  time,  for  shortly 
after  the  Natchitoches  were  driven  from  their 
country  by  the  Pawnees,  and  sought  refuge  with  us. 
I  settled  them  temporarily  among  our  friendly 
Indians  on  Lake  Ponchartrain,  and  visited  them 
frequently  with  my  secretary  Pennicault,  for  Bien- 
ville regarded  them  as  my  serfs,  and  looked  for- 
ward to  my  taking  them  back  to  their  homes  and 
hunting  grounds.  This  was  their  own  wish,  for 
they  had  come  to  me  in  their  trouble  as  to  their 
hereditary  chief.  They  were  a  trustful,  kindly 


124  MARGARITA. 

people,  and  though  not  naturally  as  warlike  as 
some  of  the  other  tribes,  I  was  to  be  satisfied  in  the 
future  with  the  bravery  as  well  as  the  devotion  of 
my  subjects. 

They  assured  me  that  the  Pawnees  had  been 
led  by  Spaniards,  of  whom  they  had  a  great 
terror. 

We  could  scarcely  credit  this,  for  the  news  of  the 
alliance  with  France  must  have  reached  Mexico. 
Still  we  were  by  no  means  certain  of  our  Spanish 
neighbors. 

It  was  all  very  well  for  Louis  XIV  to  say 
"There  are  no  longer  any  Pyrenees,"  when  his 
grandson  became  King  of  Spain  as  Philip  V.  We 
knew  that  a  peace,  made  simply  on  that  diplomatic 
deal,  could  have  no  lasting  foundation.  So  whilo 
we  treated  the  Spaniards  with  outward  courtesy, 
there  were  those  among  us  who  could  scarce  con- 
tain ourselves  when  Don  Andreas  de  hi  Kiuhi  of 
Pensacola made  threatening  demonstrations,  sailing 
into  the  harbor  of  Biloxi,  and  protesting  against 
the  occupation  of  Mobile,  and  indeed  of  the  entire 
country  by  the  French.  Bienville  replied  politely 
that  his  brother  had  gone  to  France  to  ask  that 
definite  boundaries  should  be  settled  by  our  mother 
countries  ;  that  it  was  to  the  advantage  of  Spain  for 
the  French  to  remain  where  they  were  as  a  bulwark 


MARGARITA.  125 

against  the  encroachments  of  the  English.  There 
was  need  for  diplomatic  talk  to  allay  the  suspicions 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  also  for  energetic  action 
to  forestall  them  in  the  occupancy  of  the  debated 
ground.  De  la  Riola  had  mentioned  in  defense  of 
their  claim  to  the  Texan  country  that  the  Span- 
iards had  worked  the  mines  of  Santa  Barbara  for 
an  hundred  years,  and  that  they  intended  to  retake 
possession  of  el  Gran  Quivira  where  they  had 
founded  their  most  flourishing  mission,  while  the 
Duke  of  Albuquerque  had  established  a  settlement 
named  for  himself  in  the  far  North,  and  the  Pueblo 
Indians  around  the  city  of  Santa  F6  had  repented 
their  insurrection  and  had  received  the  Spaniards 
back  again. 

All  this  braggart  boasting  was  valuable  infor- 
mation for  us.  Bienville  could  afford  to  reply 
with  urbanity  and  to  entertain  the  Spanish  com- 
mander and  his  officers  with  ceremonious  po- 
liteness. We  gave  them  a  brilliant  banquet,  and 
every  precaution  was  taken  to  hide  any  signs  of 
weakness  or  poverty.  We  wore  our  best  uniforms ; 
the  men  were  served  gala  rations ;  but  the  Span- 
iard refused  to  be  greatly  impressed  and  sailed 
away  haughtily  repeating  his  protest. 

He  was  heavily  punished  for  his  pride,  for  his 
fleet  was  shipwrecked  on  Chandeleur  Island,  and  a 


126  MARGARITA. 

week  later  the  starving  survivors  returned  to  us  in 
an  open  boat. 

You  may  be  sure  the  honor  of  France  did  not 
suffer,  for  we  received  those  miserable  ones  as  if 
they  had  been  our  brothers.  We  gave  them  cloth- 
ing and  entertained  them  for  three  weeks  before 
conveying  them  back  to  Pensacola  in  our  own 
boats. 

I  became  well  acquainted  during  that  interval 
with  de  la  Riola,  and  one  evening  I  ventured  to  say 
to  him  that  I  had  met  his  brother  in  Paris  and 
would  be  glad  to  know  of  his  present  whereabouts. 

"I  left  him  in  Mexico/9  the  Spaniard  replied, 
"  but  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  he  is  no  longer 

there.  He  was  full  of  a  great  project "  do 

la  Riola  stopped  suddenly,  looking  at  me  sus- 
piciously. 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  " your  brother  told  me.  Ho 
was  consumed  with  a  desire  to  convert  the  Indians. 
I  am  not  surprised  to  learn  that  he  has  gone  to  one 
of  the  missions  among  the  Pueblos  of  which  you 
told  us,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  will  make 
them  all  good  Christians.'9 

De  la  Kiola  filled  another  glass  of  strong  Bur- 
gundy; his  caution  was  melting  and  his  sense  of 
importance  swelling. 

"  My  brother  Luis  has  still  greater  ends  in  view. 


MARGARITA.  127 

He  has  in  his  possession  a  mighty  talisman  which 
will  unite  the  tribes  on  the  Mississippi  under  one 
ruler.  That  is  his  mission  here. 

"  I  threatened  you  last  week,  but  you  have  been 
so  kind  to  us  I  don't  mind  warning  you  now." 
His  voice  was  thick  and  the  hand  he  placed  on  my 
shoulder  unsteady.  "  Get  out,  leave  this  country. 
Make  your  friend  withdraw  all  these  Frenchmen, 
—or  else  you  will  be  driven  out.  You  think  you 
have  made  allies  of  the  Indians.  They  are  not  to 
be  trusted.  They  will  band  together  and  all  rise 
under  the  leadership  of  the  man  who  can  show 
them  the  talisman.  You  do  not  know  my  brother 
if  you  think  of  him  as  a  simple  ecclesiastic.  He  is 
more  of  a  general  than  I.  He  will  sweep  you  out 

of  this  valley  like  that "  and  the  drunken  man 

waved  his  arm  over  the  table,  sending  the  decanter 
and  glasses  in  one  common  crash  upon  the  floor. 

I  assisted  him  to  his  room,  and  then  told  Bien- 
viile.  "  I  believe,"  I  said,  "  that  the  Pawnees  were 
incited  to  make  war  upon  the  Natchitoches  by  Fra 
Luis." 

"  It  looks  like  it,"  Bienville  acquiesced,  "  but  we 
cannot  make  open  war  on  our  dear  friends  the  Span- 
iards. The  only  thing  to  be  done  is  to  match 
treachery  with  ruse,  to  outwit  them  and  outmarch 
them.  You  must  be  off,  St.  Denis,  and  take  posses- 


128  MARGARITA. 

sion  of  your  barony.  Lead  your  faithful  subjects, 
the  Natchitoches  Indians,  back  to  their  own  country. 
Make  them  settle  on  their  own  grounds,  garrison 
Natchitoches  Island,  protect  each  other  for  the 
present,  and  keep  out  the  Spaniards.  At  the  same 
time  you  can  prospect  for  those  silver  mines  of 
Santa  Barbara,  and  report  to  me." 

This  was  not  so  difficult  as  it  would  seem,  for  it 
must  be  remembered  that  I  had  in  my  possession 
Fra  Luis'  map  of  the  Texan  and  New  Mexican 
country  with  all  the  Spanish  and  Indian  settlements 
plainly  marked. 

Bienville  fitted  me  out  with  live  canoes,  or 
pirogues  hollowed  from  cypress  logs,  laden  with 
stores  and  twenty-four  Frenchmen  (beside  the  In- 
dians) who  were  to  build  and  garrison  my  fort. 
Each  of  these  men  had  his  trade— most  of  them  two. 
Pennicault,  my  secretary,  beside  being  gifted  with 
the  pen,  was  a  good  carpenter.  Jallot,  barber-sur- 
geon by  profession,  was  an  excellent  cook.  Picard, 
the  miller,  played  the  fiddle  in  the  merriest,  mad- 
dest way,  and  I  count  that  accomplishment  as  use- 
ful to  us  as  any  of  the  sober  trades.  We  had  also 
a  blacksmith  and  a  cobbler,  who  could  tan  skins  as 
well  as  sew  them,  and  all  of  the  Canadians  were 
coureurs  de  bait,  expert  canoeists,  wood-choppers 
and  hunters. 


MA  BO  ABIT  A.  129 

It  was  early  spring  when  we  rowed  up  the  Red 
River,  and  we  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  sum- 
mer in  constructing  a  blockhouse  with  palisades 
along  the  shore  of  our  island.  We  had  no  cannon 
but  plenty  of  firearms  and  ammunition.  The  loop- 
holes in  the  palisades  commanded  the  river,  which 
formed  a  natural  moat,  with  but  two  landing-places, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  island.  We  constructed 
ovens  and  cooked  and  ate  during  the  summer  in  the 
open  air,  laying  in  a  large  quantity  of  fire-wood, 
which  was  piled  within  the  stockaded  yard. 

The  basement  of  the  blockhouse  held  all  our 
stores  excepting  the  powder,  for  which  we  built  a 
small  magazine  at  the  other  end  of  the  island  from 
the  ovens.  We  had  no  need  to  dig  a  well,  for  we 
could  draw  water  from  the  river  by  means  of  a 
windlass  which  projected  from  the  upper  story  of 
the  blockhouse.  This  upper  story  was  our  common 
hall,  in  which  we  slept,  and  in  the  winter  would 
cook  and  eat,  for  it  too  had  a  great  fireplace  and  an 
oven  not  used  in  the  warm  weather.  It  was  a  rude 
but  comfortable  place  with  its  couches  covered 
with  buffalo  and  other  skins,  and  gaily  striped  In- 
dian blankets,  its  walls  hung  with  firearms  and  all 
our  household  affairs.  It  was  reached  by  means  of 
a  ladder  leading  through  a  trap-door  from  the  lower 
story.  At  night  we  not  only  barricaded  the  out- 


130  MARGARITA. 

side  door  of  the  basement,  but  hauled  up  the 
ladder. 

In  short  our  fort  was  not  unlike  a  very  early 
feudal  fortress  such  as  the  Northmen  built  when  they 
made  their  raids  up  the  Seine  and  the  Loire,  incur- 
sions not  for  "maraud  ing  only,  but  to  hold  the  land 
they  had  gained.  In  hewing  the  wood  we  had 
cleared  away  the  forest  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river  and  as  the  south  was  a  treeless  plain  we  could 
scan  the  entire  country  for  miles  around  as  from  a 
watch  tower.  There  seemed  no  possibility  of  sur- 
prise for  our  canoes  were  dragged  inside  the  enclo- 
sure at  night,  as  was  the  light  drawbridge  which 
connected  the  island  with  the  land. 

While  the  Indian  men  had  assisted  in  hewing  tim- 
ber for  my  fort  the  women  had  planted  corn-fields 
and  had  practiced  their  simple  industries.  During 
the  fall  we  hunted  buffalo,  and  jerked  the  meat. 
We  passed  the  winter  comfortably,  and  early  in  the 
spring  I  prepared  for  the  real  object  for  which  this 
settlement  on  the  Red  River  was  but  my  base  of 
supplies,  my  search  for  Fra  Luis  and  the  great 
opal.  Bienville  had  given  me,  besides  my  provisions, 
two  canoe-loads  of  merchandise  which  would 
furnish  me  with  an  excellent  pretext  for  visiting 
the  Spanish  settlements. 

Monsieur  Crozat,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  the 


MARGARITA.  131 

earlier  part  of  this  narrative  as  having  been  in- 
terested in  the  Mississippi  venture  by  Mademoiselle 
de  Cadillac,  had  sent  out  a  quantity  of  goods  for 
trading  with  the  Indians.  He  was  also  most  desir- 
ous that  we  should  open  up  a  trade  with  the 
Spaniards  in  Mexico,  but  this  project  was  not  well 
received  by  their  government.  All  French  products 
were  contraband  and  their  introduction  to  Spanish 
territory  was  fraught  with  danger.  This  was,  how- 
ever, a  part  of  my  mission,  and  Bienville  knew  very 
well  that  the  luxuries  of  French  manufacture,  with 
which  he  had  loaded  my  boats,  were  not  to  be  offered 
to  the  Indians  in  exchange  for  their  peltries. 
I  had,  however,  his  authority  as  I  turned  into  the 
Eed  River  to  send  Pennicault  to  the  Natchez  with 
some  presents,  among  which  were  a  few  yards  of 
flowered  brocade  to  make  Weenonah  a  tunic.  For 
the  Spanish  officials  I  was  provided  with  a  passport 
and  a  letter  asking  for  an  interchange  of  courtesies 
in  the  way  of  free  trade.  In  the  spring,  therefore, 
my  first  care  was  to  send  my  Indians  with  goods 
to  exchange  for  ponies  of  some  of  the  Texan 
Indians,  and  having  obtained  a  herd  of  these  useful 
animals,  I  loaded  them  with  their  packs  and  made 
up  my  train,  leaving  a  part  of  my  command  to 
garrison  the  fort,  but  taking  with  me  ten  of  those 
whom  I  could  best  trust,  and  some  Indians  well 


132  MARGARITA. 

acquainted  with  the  country  as  guides  and  hunts- 
men. It  had  been  my  intention  to  strike  out  in  a 
northwesterly  direction  for  the  Rio  Grande,  where  I 
knew,  from  the  map,  that  the  Spanish  missions  were 
situated.  It  was  my  plan  to  follow  down  the  river 
searching  every  pueblo  for  Fra  Luis,  but  my 
Indians  firmly  refused  to  go  in  that  direction,  fear- 
ing the  Apaches  and  the  Pawnees  who  had  once 
before  driven  them  from  their  homes. 

A  southwesterly  course  would,  they  assured  me, 
be  safer  and  would  bring  me  to  the  Rio  Grande  in 
the  vicinity  of  el  Gran  Quivira.  We  came  sooner 
than  I  had  expected  upon  the  traces  of  the  Span- 
iard. At  a  village  of  the  Tejas  (or  Texan  Indians) 
there  had  been  a  mission  which  had  been  with- 
drawn at  the  time  of  the  great  Pueblo  insurrection, 
though  the  friendly  Tejas  had  taken  no  part  in  that 
bloody  uprising.  They  remembered  the  padre 
well,  and  showed  us  the  adobe  chapel,  where  for 
twenty  years  they  had  kept  the  lamp  burning  be- 
fore the  altar,  hoping  for  his  return.  Their  chief, 
Bernardino,  entertained  us  hospitably,  the  women 
setting  out  a  simple  feast  of  fish  fried  in  opossum 
fat,  with  cakes  of  bread,  hard  as  the  nether  mill- 
stone, and  a  dessert  of  mouth-watering  melons 
grown  in  their  fertile  fields. 

I  bade  my  men  preserve  the  seeds  for  future 


MARGARITA.  133 

planting,  and  when  we  left  I  distributed  beads  and 
simple  trinkets.  Bernardino  accompanied  us  for  a 
long  distance,  showing  us  the  best  fords  and  ex- 
plaining the  properties  of  the  wild  plants,  begging 
us  when  we  came  again  to  bring  Padre  Hidalgo 
with  us. 

This  I  promised  to  do,  for  I  suddenly  saw  in  this 
errand  a  means  of  ingratiating  myself  with  the 
Spanish  ecclesiastics.  The  Teja's  land  was  within 
the  boundaries  which  we  recognized  as  belonging 
to  Spain ;  Bienville  would  see  no  reason  why  the 
Spanish  missionaries  should  not  reestablish  them- 
selves here.  It  would  be  well  to  earn  their  grati- 
tude, and  so  indeed  I  found  it  when  I  incurred  the 
displeasure  of  the  secular  arm.  So  we  journeyed 
on  for  six  weeks — a  holiday  excursion,  except  for 
a  brush  with  a  wandering  band  of  Apaches  as  we 
were  crossing  the  Rio  San  Marcos.  The  Indians 
fled  after  our  first  fire,  carrying  their  wounded  with 
them ;  but  leaving  several  of  their  arrows  imbedded 
in  the  bodies  of  our  men,  and  one  in  my  own  left 
arm.  Fortunately  they  were  hunting  arrows,  and 
were  not  poisoned,  as  they  would  have  been  had 
the  Apaches  been  on  the  war-path,  and  Jallot  was 
able  to  show  his  skill  as  a  surgeon  in  extracting 
them  and  in  binding  up  our  wounds. 

This  encounter  extinguished  for  this  time  my 


134  MARGARITA. 

desire  to  discover  el  Gran  Quivira,  and  dig  for  the 
golden  vessels,  which  the  priests  were  supposed  to 
have  buried  there  before  their  great  church  and 
monastery  were  burned,  and  I  deemed  it  wiser  to 
defer  such  excavations  to  another  time,  and  to 
hasten  on  to  the  nearest  Spanish  settlement,  the 
Presidio  del  Norte  on  the  Rio  Grande. 

It  was  a  dusty  and  weary  cavalcade  that  asked 
hospitality  at  the  gate  of  the  Spanish  fort.  But  the 
news  of  Bienville's  kindness  to  the  shipwrecked 
Pensacolan  Spaniards  had  been  carried  by  a  Span- 
ish ship  to  Yera  Cruz,  and  thence  had  penetrated 
even  to  this  remote  post,  and  the  Spanish  Com- 
mandant, Don  Raimon  de  Villesco,  was  not  to  be 
outdone  in  courtesy.  He  remembered  too,  that 
our  Prince  was  his  King  and  something  of  cere- 
monial punctilio  was  due  to  the  fellow-countrymen 
of  Philip  V ;  but  I  knew  afterwards  that  the  wel- 
come which  he  gave  to  the  wounded  and  travel- 
worn  adventurers  was  due  rather  to  his  own  hu- 
manity than  to  a  sense  of  obligation.  Don  Raimon 
was  a  proud  and  silent  man,  but  in  his  every  act 
generous  and  honorable.  More  active  but  less  im- 
pulsive than  the  ordinary  Spaniard,  he  was  perfectly 
suited  to  the  exigencies  of  border  life.  I  felt  a  pro- 
found respect  for  him  at  our  first  meeting,  a  respect 
which  was  never  to  be  dimmed  through  a  long  ac- 


MARGARITA.  135 

quaintance.  He  at  once  lodged  my  Frenchmen 
comfortably  in  the  barracks  of  his  soldiers,  and  di- 
rected a  servant  to  show  the  Indians  a  camping 
ground  outside  the  presidio,  near  the  river,  where 
they  could  find  fuel  and  water,  while  he  insisted 
on  entertaining  me  in  his  own  house. 

It  was  delightful  after  years  of  rough  life  to  find 
myself  the  guest  of  a  civilized  home.  Jallot  aided 
me  in  my  toilet  and  I  needed  his  services,  being 
weaker  than  I  realized  from  my  wound.  A  strange 
lassitude  was  creeping  over  me  when  some  one 
called  me  to  dinner,  and  a  little  way  down  the  cor- 
ridor I  reeled  and  fell,  catching  as  I  did  so  at 
a  porttere  which  fluttered  in  an  open  doorway.  I 
heard  a  feminine  shriek — "  Mother  of  Mercy,  help ! " 
and  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  lovely  girl  shrinking 
back  with  startled  eyes. 

Ashamed  of  my  weakness  and  rudeness  I  struggled 
to  lift  myself  but  could  not ;  all  was  red,  then  black. 
The  same  voice  cried  wildly, — "  Jesu  !  Maria !  he 
has  fainted." 

When  I  came  to  my  senses  I  was  lying  in  a  sweet, 
white  bed  in  the  room  at  whose  door  I  had  fallen, 
and  which  chanced  to  be  that  of  the  daughter  of 
the  house.  Though  very  simple,  I  felt  at  once  that 
it  was  a  lady's  chamber.  A  window  opening  to  the 
floor  led  to  a  garden,  but  the  light  was  screened  by 


136  MARGARITA. 

draperies  which  fluttered  in  the  gentle  breeze. 
It  seemed  to  my  confused  senses  at  first  that 
a  bevy  of  maidens  were  dancing  a  stately  minuet 
on  the  other  side  of  the  room,  lifting  their  arms, 
advancing,  retreating,  the  filmy,  delicate  fabrics 
and  tender  colors  of  their  dresses,  rose,  azure,  and 
yellow,  waving  and  blending  in  perfect  silence — for 
there  was  no  music,  no  click  of  high  heels  on  the 
tiled  floor.  Even  in  my  semi-conscious  state  this 
seemed  unreal  to  me,  and  I  fancied  that  I  was 
dreaming  of  the  garden-party  at  Chantilly,  until  I 
realized  that  I  was  dreaming  awake,  and  the  dan- 
cing maidens  resolved  themselves  into  dresses  hang- 
ing on  pegs  on  the  wall  and  fluttering  in  the  wind 
which  moved  the  curtains. 

I  fed  my  starved  eyes  on  these  feminine  fripper- 
ies, and  wished  that  the  startled  eyes  which  I  had 
seen  as  I  fell  would  look  upon  me  again  from  under 
the  lace  mantilla..  Then  a  face  appeared,  that  of  an 
obese  and  swarthy  matron  with  a  moustache  which 
rivalled  my  own,  and  an  asthmatic  voice  exclaimed, 
"  Praise  be  to  the  Virgin,  he  is  coming  to  himself." 

Some  one  else  had  been  fanning  me,  but  the  fan 
fell  on  the  floor  and  quick  footsteps  pattered  away. 

"Courage,  Senor,"  the  same  voice  continued, 
"you  are  doubtless  perishing  with  hunger,  but 
Margarita  has  gone  for  the  chocolate." 


MARGARITA.  137 

Jallot  appeared.  "  Don't  talk,  Monsieur,"  he  said. 
"  I  have  examined  your  wound ;  it  is  healing.  You 
have  no  fever.  It  was  only  exhaustion ;  you  will 
soon  be  better.  This  is  your  hostess,  the  Senora  de 
Villesco.  Madame  has  been  ministering  to  you 
with  her  own  hands." 

I  expressed  my  gratitude  and  apologies  in  the 
best  Spanish  which  I  could  muster,  and  the  Senora 
was  most  kind  and  reassuring,  but  I  was  conscious 
of  a  vague  feeling  of  disappointment.  This  elderly, 
though  kindly  face  was  so  different  from  my  vision. 
Was  the  face  which  I  fancied  that  I  had  seen  after 
all  only  a  dream  ? 

Presently  the  chocolate  was  brought,  and 
Madame  placed  the  tray  on  a  chair  beside  my  bed 
and  held  the  cup  to  my  lips.  But  my  fascinated 
eyes  kept  returning  to  the  pretty  gowns  still 
waving  slightly  in  the  light  breeze,  and  I  thought 
how  inappropriate  such  girlish  costume  was  to  the 
motherly  creature  who  continued  her  benevolent 
ministrations.  She  caught  my  wandering  gaze,  and 
a  quick  look  of  intelligence  passed  between  the 
Senora  and  the  unseen  personage  who  had  brought 
my  chocolate.  Instantly  my  vision  came  true,  for 
Margarita,  who  had  hitherto  kept  out  of  sight, 
dashed  impulsively  toward  her  petticoats,  whipped 
them  from  their  hooks,  and  with  her  blushing  face 


138  MARGARITA. 

half  buried  in  their  rainbow-tinted  masses  disap- 
peared from  the  room. 

Then  I  slept,  perfectly  satisfied.  It  was  no 
mirage,  she  really  existed,  and  I  knew  even  then, 
by  some  miraculous  foreknowledge,  that  she  existed 
for  me. 

They  say  that  I  slept,  waking  only  for  momen- 
tary intervals,  for  two  nights  and  the  intervening 
day.  After  that  long  rest  I  was  quite  myself  again, 
and  Jallot's  delight  was  unbounded. 

"Monsieur  is  then  completely  restored?  What 
good  fortune,  for  this  is  no  place  in  which  to  be 
ill." 

"No?"  I  replied,  questioningly.  "It  seems  to 
me  from  the  care  I  have  received  it  is  the  place  of 
all  others  in  which  to  be  invalided." 

"  Any  place,  Monsieur,  will  do  for  a  man  who  can- 
not eat  and  who  is  unconscious,  but  this  is  a 
Paradise  for  a  well  man  and  a  gastronome.  Look 
out  into  that  garden.  Sniff  the  air  and  tell  me 
what  is  growing  there." 

"  Roses,"  I  replied,  "  and  I  have  not  smelled  them 
since  I  left  France." 

"  Hoses  in  plenty,  it  is  true,  Monsieur,  but  I  re- 
ferred not  to  such  useless  vegetables.  Sniff  again, 
Monsieur.  Surely  Monsieur  recognizes  the  per- 
fume of  onions  and  garlic,  and  the  appetizing  odors 


MARGARITA.  139 

of  pot  herbs  wafted  this  way  from  the  kitchens. 
Such  delectable  kitchens,  filled  with  everything 
imaginable ; — game,  meat,  fish,  vegetables,  fruits, 
spits  capable  of  roasting  a  dozen  fowls  at  a  time, 
kettles  that  could  fabricate  stews  for  a  regiment, 
an  abundance  of  everything.  But  alas !  it  is  God 
who  sends  the  meat  and  the  devil  who  cooks. 
These  people  understand  by  cookery  simply  the 
sousing  of  everything  together  in  one  stew,  with  a 
bushel  of  red  and  green  peppers.  They  know 
nothing  of  the  art  of  cookery  as  we  understand  it. 
But  I  am  teaching  them.  The  cook  is  a  good 
creature  and  I  am  giving  her  lessons.  At  last  I 
have  found  my  mission,  and  know  why  I  have/x>me 
to  this  God-forsaken  America.  It  is  to  convert  these 
savages,  these  pagans  of  Spaniards  to  a  knowledge 
of  true  gastronomy.  Their  wine  is  potable,  though 
it  smacks  of  the  hog-skins  in  which  it  is  transported 
from  old  Spain,  but  their  tobacco  is  adorable. 
Monsieur  must  hasten  to  try  the  little  cigarettos 
made  in  Havana,  compared  with  which  the  vile 
weeds  that  we  have  smoked  in  the  calumets  of  the 
Indians  is  as  the  fumes  of  burning  garbage." 

So  Jallot  ran  on  until  I  begged  him  to  rise 
superior  to  gross  viands  and  tell  me  something  of 
my  hosts.  He  shrugged  his  shoulders  apologetic- 
ally. "They  are  as  God  made  them,  Spaniards, 


140  MARGARITA. 

silent  and  proud.  They  speak  to  me  but  once  a 
day,  to  demand  the  health  of  Monsieur.  But  Lucia 
the  cook  is  more  polite.  I  have  told  her  that 
Monsieur  is  a  Prince  in  France,  and  a  King  among 
the  Indians,  that  the  train  of  merchandise  which  he 
has  brought  with  him  is  a  mere  bagatelle  in  com- 
parison with  the  warehouses  which  he  has  1*  ft 
filled  in  his  fortress  chateau  of  Natchitoches.  For 
the  honor  of  Monsieur  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to 
have  all  the  pony-loads  of  stuff  brought  from  the 
barracks  and  deposited  in  the  next  chamber,  as 
Monsieur's  personal  baggage.  All  the  clothing  and 
the  weapons,  I  assured  Lucia,  were  but  a  part  of 
Monsieur's  wardrobe.  I  told  her  that  Monsieur 
never  traveled  here  in  America  without  six  dress 
wigs,  or  in  France  without  a  dozen.  The  Sefior 
himself  looked  surprised  when  the  Picard  brought 
in  a  whole  armful  of  swords,  but  I  explained  that 
Monsieur  was  an  expert  duelist  and  often  broke  as 
many  as  that  in  a  single  season  in  affairs  of  honor." 

I  groaned  aloud, "  Liar,  how  could  you,  when 
you  know  that  I  am  the  most  peaceable  of  men  ?  " 
But  the  worst  was  yet  to  come. 

"Ah!  Monsieur,  I  had  your  reputation  in  my 
hands,  and  I  assure  you  it  has  not  suffered.  I 
could  not  let  them  think  you  a  pedlar,  so  when 
Picard  brought  up  a  hat  in  the  latest  style,  and 


MARGARITA.  141 

that  piece  of  flowered  brocade,  I  assured  Madame 
that  Monsieur  intended  the  former  as  a  gift  for  her 
and  the  latter  for  Mademoiselle,  and  that  Monsieur 
would  insist  on  the  Senor's  making  choice  from  his 
collection  of  firearms." 

I  could  do  no  less  than  realize  the  impression 
which  Jallot  had  created  of  my  liberality,  even 
though  I  could  not  include  these  gifts  in  the  report 
which  I  would  render  to  Bienville  of  my  expenses, 
and  must  pay  for  them  from  my  meagre  salary. 
But  I  could  not  allow  the  Villescos  to  have  a  false 
idea  of  my  wealth,  and  the  state  in  which  I  was 
accustomed  to  travel.  I  know  that  they  thought 
none  the  worse  of  me  for  my  frankness,  for  it  was 
not  my  valet's  extravaganzas  which  won  me  my 
enviable  reception  in  this  hospitable  household,  but 
the  pity  of  my  hosts  for  my  helpless  condition. 
They  showed  me  the  same  politeness  when  they 
knew  that  I  was  simply  a  traveling  merchant ;  but 
Don  Kaimon  elevated  his  eyebrows  when  I  ex- 
plained that  the  object  of  my  visit  was  to  secure 
free  trade  between  New  France  and  New  Spain. 

Spanish  manufacturers  could  not  compete  with 
ours,  and  such  trade  as  Bienville  proposed,  the 
Senor  explained,  was  under  the  present  laws  con- 
traband, and  he  could  not  engage  in  it. 

It  was  all  in  vain  that  I  had  my  men  bring  my 


142  MARGARITA. 

bales  and  open  them,  and  that  the  court  was  littered 
with  all  our  attractive  French  merchandise.  Mar- 
garita's face  glowed  with  pleasure  as  I  confirmed 
Jallot's  gifts.  She  could  but  notice  as  she  caught 
her  reflection  in  the  mirror  how  becoming  to  her 
dark  beauty  was  the  crocus  colored  brocade  pow- 
dered with  roses  which  Jallot  respectfully  draped 
about  her  figure  with  all  the  airs  of  a  Parisian  mo- 
diste. The  Senora  was  equally  pleased  with  her 
bonnet,  and  Don  Ilaimon  examined  with  the  eye  of 
a  connoisseur  the  new  firearms,  of  a  make  far 
superior  to  the  old  Spanish  blunderbusses ;  but  he 
set  his  lips  together  firmly  and  shook  his  head,  as 
I  drew  his  attention  to  the  rest  of  my  merchandise. 

"I  must  write  to  the  viceroy,  the  Due  de  Li- 
nares*" he  said,  "  and  obtain  full  permission  from 
him  before  I  can  exchange  the  products  of  our 
mines,  which  have  been  greatly  exaggerated,  or 
even  our  horses  and  cattle,  of  which  we  have  indeed 
a  great  superfluity,  for  these  tempting  luxuries." 

So  a  post  was  despatched  to  the  city  of  Mexico, 
and  we  were  begged  to  resign  ourselves  to  a  stay 
of  six  weeks,  the  shortest  time  in  which  he  could  be 
expected  to  accomplish  the  journey  and  the  return. 

Resignation  was  easy,  for  the  entire  presidio  did 
its  best  to  entertain  us.  The  younger  officers  in- 
vited my  men  to  cocking  mains  and  horse  races, 


MARGARITA.  143 

and  even  extemporized  a  bull  fight  in  their  honor. 
There  were  serenades  each  evening,  for  some  of 
them  were  fine  performers  on  the  guitar,  and,  not 
to  be  outdone,  I  requested  Picard  to  accompany  me 
upon  his  violin  in  some  little  chansonettes. 

From  music  we  passed  to  dancing.  Margarita 
showed  me  the  Spanish  dances,  both  stately  and 
gay,  and  wo  replied  with  a  minuet,  danced,  it  is 
true,  only  by  us  bachelors,  but  to  judge  from  the 
applause,  giving  some  little  idea  of  the  graceful 
poses  of  that  courtly  French  dance.  Pennicault 
had  a  talent  as  a  raconteur.  Dona  Margarita  was 
never  weary  of  hearing  me  sing,  and  Picard's  fiddle 
was  called  into  requisition  for  all  the  dances  both 
Spanish  and  French,  and  voted  far  more  inspiring 
than  the  Spanish  guitars. 

But  Jallot  was  right;  the  Villescos  were  by 
nature  silent  and  serious ;  such  holiday-making  was 
not  their  accustomed  life.  I  think  that  we  exer- 
cised a  fascination  over  each  other  on  account 
of  our  very  differences.  The  Gallic  gaiety,  which 
could  never  be  suppressed  by  the  most  trying  cir- 
cumstances, was  as  amusing  to  them  as  their  perfect 
dignity  and  ceremonious  courtesy  was  admirable  in 
our  eyes.  I  have  seen  my  coureurs  de  bois  work- 
ing for  days  on  the  Ked  River  when  it  was  swollen 
with  floating  timber,  springing  from  log  to  log  up 


144  MARGARITA. 

to  their  middles  in  freezing  water  in  peril  of  their 
lives,  hungry,  almost  spent  with  fatigue,  and  yet 
they  shouted,  sang,  laughed,  and  cut  antics  like  the 
veriest  schoolboys.  So  Frenchmen  have  charged 
the  enemy,  dying,  with  a  jest  turned  into  a  prayer. 
While  the  cool  evenings  were  devoted  to  society, 
the  home  life  during  the  sultry  days  was  unevent- 
ful but  delightfully  intimate  and  simple.  All  the 
meals  were  served  on  the  cool,  cloister-like  portico, 
which  on  three  sides  surrounded  the  garden  on 
which  my  chamber  opened.  There  was  an  orange 
tree  in  the  centre,  where  but  for  the  lack  of  water 
there  should  have  been  a  fountain.  Over  the 
entrance  in  a  little  nicho  was  a  statuette  of  the 
Virgin,  and  beneath  hung  a  small  silver  lamp,  in 
which,  as  in  a  church,  a  red  light  was  always  burn- 
ing. The  Senor  took  off  his  hat  and  crossed  him- 
self in  passing  under  this  lamp,  and  I  quickly  fol- 
lowed his  example.  Two  sides  of  the  court  were 
reserved  for  the  family.  On  the  third,  the  kitchen 
opened ;  in  front  of  it  was  the  well,  and  here  the 
Indian  women  prepared  the  fruits  and  vegetables, 
in  the  open  air,  screened  from  our  part  of  the 
garden  by  a  vine-covered  trellis.  On  the  fourth 
side  the  garden  was  open,  descending  by  terraces 
and  closed  by  a  hedge  of  aloes,  above  the  steep 
bank  of  the  river.  The  garden  beds  were  filled 


MARGAEITA.  145 

with  matted  violets,  from  which  lilies,  datura  and 
yucca  shot  up  starring  the  foliage  with  their  waxy 
blossoms.  Vivid  cacti  spotted  the  garden  with 
their  crimson  splashes,  and  passion  vines  and  jas- 
mine wreathed  the  pillars  from  which  swung  our 
hammocks.  After  the  treeless,  dusty  desert,  over 
which  we  had  struggled,  this  was  Paradise  in- 
deed. 

So  the  six  weeks  passed  like  one  swift  holiday, 
and  even  the  elder  people  enjoyed  it.  I  hunted 
with  Don  Raimon,  and  played  piquet  with  the 
Senora,  while  Margarita  looked  over  my  hand  and 
saw  that  it  was  because  I  willed  it  so  that  I  always 
lost.  I  did  not  forget  the  purpose  of  my  expedi- 
tion, but  in  these  days  of  enforced  idleness  I  strove 
to  gain  from  Don  Raimon  information  concerning 
the  Spanish  mines  of  Santa  Barbara,  of  whose 
whereabouts,  even  with  the  vague  indications  on 
Fra  Luis'  map,  I  had  no  exact  knowledge.  But  the 
Senor  was  close  mouthed,  and  I  gained  nothing 
from  him.  The  ladies  were  more  communicative, 
and  the  Senora  showed  me  some  turquoises  and 
emeralds  which  she  had  purchased  from  the  Indians. 
One  of  the  emeralds  was  of  fair  size,  and  I  took 
out  my  lapidary  tools  and  cut  it  in  table  shape, 
mounting  it  as  a  brooch  in  a  setting  which  I  made 
from  a  louis  d'or. 


146  MARGARITA. 

The  Sciiora  was  delighted  with  this  little  atten- 
tion, and  Margarita  greatly  admired  my  skill. 

"  You  should  have  the  cutting,"  she  said,  "  of  a 
beautiful  gem  in  the  possession  of  our  padre  at  our 
mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista.  He  keeps  it  locked 
in  a  little  reliquary  which  is  chained  to  the  altar. 
The  reliquary  has  a  glass  front  so  that  the  gem  can 
bo  distinctly  seen  by  the  Indians  who  come  to  pray 
in  the  chapel.  Some  of  them  pray  to  the  stone,  I 
fear,  for  the  padre  obtained  it  in  some  strange  way, 
and  they  believe  that  it  is  a  great  medicine  or 
talisman." 

"What  is  this  wonderful  gem? "  Tasked,  striving 
to  speak  carelessly. 

"It  is  a  fire-opal  of  irregular  shape  but  very 
beautiful  in  its  play  of  color—  But  what  is  the 
matter  ?  You  have  cut  your  hand.  It  is  bleeding." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE." 

Prepnrez,  Castillans,  des  fetes  soleiinelles, 

Des  mure  de  Sarragosse  aux  Champs  d'Almona^id, 

M  .'•  1  < •/  a  DOS  lauriers  vos  palmes  fraternelles ; 

Cbantez  Bayard, — chamtons  le  Cid ! 
Qu'au  vieil  escurial  le  vieux  Louvre  r£ponde, 

Qne  votre  drapeau  se  oonfonde 

A  nos  drapeaux  victorieux. 

— Victor  Hugo. 

REPARED  as  I  had 
fancied  myself  for 
the  discovery  of  the 
opal  at  any  point, 
finding  it  at  this 
particular  time  so 
startled  me  that  I 
slightly  scratched 
my  hand  with  the 
little  graving  tool 
which  I  chanced  to 
be  holding. 

I  controlled  myself  at  once  and  asked  indiffer- 
ently when  this  remarkable  gem  could  be  seen. 

147 


148  MARGARITA. 

"We  will  go  next  Sunday  and  hear  Fra  Luis 
preach,"  said  Margarita.  "  He  speaks  to  the  Indians 
in  their  dialect,  and  then  a  few  words  of  exhorta- 
tion in  Spanish  if  any  of  the  soldiers  wander  over 
from  the  presidio." 

After  this  preparation  I  was  not  so  surprised  as  I 
might  have  been  on  entering  the  cave-like  adobe 
church,  to  recognize  in  the  priest,  who  from  the 
rude  pulpit  was  addressing  the  Indians,  the  very 
man  for  whom  I  sought,  Fra  Luis  de  la  liiola. 
The  shock  was  greater  for  the  priest,  but  he  re- 
covered himself  instantly,  and  preached  an  excel- 
lent sermon  with  no  little  power. 

Margarita  pressed  my  arm  as  she  rose  from  her 
knees,  but  I  needed  not  the  signal,  for  in  the  osten- 
soir  chained  to  the  altar,  I  could  see  the  gleam  of 
the  opal  reflecting  the  flicker  of  the  candles. 

The  Indians  filed  up  to  the  altar  one  by  one, 
kneeling  before  it,  and  I  whispered  to  Jallot  to  fol- 
low and  bring  me  a  description  of  the  gem. 

He  had  seen  the  imitation  stone  at  Colin's  and 
at  once  comprehended  that  this  was  the  talisman. 

I  imagined  that  Fra  Luis  might  feign  not  to 
recognize  me,  but  he  came  to  me  after  the  service, 
expressing  his  surprise  and  pleasure  at  meeting  me 
again.  We  returned  together  to  the  house  of  Don 
Kaimon,  and  he  told  me,  what  I  already  knew,  that 


"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE."     149 

since  seeing  me  in  France,  he  had  come  out  to 
Mexico  to  aid  in  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  He 
had  visited  the  Pueblos  of  the  upper  Rio  Grande, 
but  had  not  been  attracted  by  them,  feeling  a  much 
stronger  drawing  to  the  Indians  of  Texas,  and  es- 
pecially to  the  mission  of  San  Antonio  which  had 
been  founded  in  1690. 

He  said  nothing  of  the  opal,  thinking  possibly 
that  at  the  distance  at  which  I  stood  I  had  not 
remarked  it,  and  I  reserved  any  conversation  on 
the  subject  for  another  occasion. 

He  had  heard  that  the  French  had  won  the 
Natchitoches,  but  was  surprised  to  find  that  I  was 
the  successful  agent  with  those  Indians.  He  ex- 
pressed himself  as  pleased  with  what  I  had  accom- 
plished. The  Red  River  was  the  natural  boundary 
between  the  Spanish  and  French  possessions.  The 
accession  of  a  Bourbon  King  made  Spain  the  ally 
of  France,  d'Iberville  policy  was  the  correct  one, 
the  French  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  were  a 
bulwark  against  the  English,  etc.,  etc.  But  through 
all  his  false  friendliness  I  should  not  have  been  de- 
ceived. I  should  have  known  that  he  had  never 
changed  his  aim,  that  of  securing  the  Great  River 
for  Spain,  that  he  would  follow  it  as  steadily  as  a 
hound  on  a  trail,  overleaping  all  obstacles,  refusing 
no  treachery,  believing  that  the  end  justified  every 


150  MABQAinTA. 

means.  I  should  have  known  that  his  friendship 
was  false,  and  that  if  I  crossed  him  I  would  find  no 
more  relentless  enemy  than  Fra  Luis.  But  my 
heart  was  swelling  with  new  emotions  which  made 
me  look  upon  all  Spaniards  in  an  entirely  differ*  nt 
light,  and  I  took  his  proffered  hand,  reproaching 
myself  inwardly  for  having  misjudged  him  in  the 
past.  I  told  him  my  promise  to  the  Tejas  Indians, 
to  bring  them  a  mission  priest  on  my  return ;  and 
he  assured  me  not  only  of  his  own  gratitude  but  of 
that  of  his  entire  fraternity.  He  would  himself 
repair  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  as  soon  as  might  be, 
and  see  that  a  missionary  was  appointed  for  this 
post  There  was  no  reason  why  the  Spanish  and 
the  French  should  not  live  on  opposite  banks  of  the 
Red  River  in  perfect  amity. 

I  foresaw  in  this  possibilities  of  trade,  and  be- 
lieving that  I  was  advancing  the  interests  of 
France,  I  entered  cordially  into  his  scheme.  As 
for  the  opal,  my  repugnance  to  the  alliance  with  the 
Natchez  of  which  it  was  the  guarantee,  was  now  so 
great  that  I  would  willingly  have  left  it  where  it 
was. 

I  am  sensible  that  I  have  not  yet  described  Dona 
Margarita  Maria  di  Villesco.  Can  one  by  any 
amount  of  description  realize  a  flower  to  one  who 
has  never  seen  it  ?  For  me  her  eyes  held  her  soul, 


"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE."     151 

and  I  knew  from  the  moment  that  I  looked  into 
them  that  here  was  the  one  soul  for  me.  I  watched 
her  with  infinite  content  as  I  lay  in  my  hammock  in 
the  court ;  and  she  sat  at  a  little  distance  busied  with 
her  embroidery.  It  mattered  not  that  her  back 
was  towards  me,  for  sometimes  she  turned  her 
head  slightly  and  I  caught  the  graceful  contour  of 
her  neck,  a  dimple  nestling  in  the  lovely  cheek 
hinting  at  a  smile,  though  I  could  not  see  her  lips. 
Profile  perdu,  our  artists  call  that  view  of  the  face 
— a  tantalizing  one  because  it  reveals  so  little  and  so 
much.  How  the  flicker  of  the  dark  eyelash  made 
me  long  to  look  deeply  into  her  glorious  eyes,  and 
the  perfect  curve  of  her  snowy  shoulder  told  that 
all  the  lines  of  her  beautiful  body  were  a  succession 
of  equally  exquisite  curves.  In  the  dusk  of  her 
abundant  hair  she  always  wore  her  name-flower, 
a  starry  Marguerite,  and  from  a  high  comb  was 
draped  a  veil  of  rare  old  Spanish  lace.  It  was  the 
mode  of  Seville,  her  native  city,  famous  for  beau- 
tiful women,  and  no  Castilian  belle  was  ever  more 
charming  than  this  transplanted  daughter  of  old 
Spain. 

She  must  have  been  conscious  that  I  studied  her 
intently  through  the  curling,  blue  smoke-wreaths 
of  my  cigar,  for  at  such  moments  the  apricot  cheek 
would  bloom  to  the  deep  red  of  a  peach  where  the 


152  MARGARITA. 

sun  had  kissed  it.  She  would  not  return  my  gaze 
by  the  slightest  coquettish  glance,  but  it  was  no 
small  comfort  that  she  did  not  go  away. 

Though  very  taciturn  it  was  not  from  want  of 
ideas  or  inability  to  express  them;  no,  nor  from 
want  of  feeling,  as  I  was  to  learn  when  after  long 
bantering,  I  would  rouse  her  to  some  passionate  ut- 
terance. I  loved  to  provoke  her,  to  see  the  fire 
kindle  in  her  eyes,  to  startle  her  out  of  her  admi- 
rable self-control,  and  nothing  angered  her  more 
than  to  be  laughed  at  Then  she  was  magnificent  I 
As  my  love  grew  for  her  it  became  more  tender, 
and,  realizing  what  pain  I  gave  her,  I  ceased  to 
play  the  tease ;  but  at  the  beginning  of  our  ac- 
quaintance I  was  abominable,  and  I  wonder  that 
she  ever  pardoned  me. 

I  remember  that  we  fell  into  an  idle  discussion  as 
to  the  merits  of  our  respective  countries,  and  that 
I  vaunted  my  loyalty  to  France,  protesting  that  if 
I  ever  fell  in  love  with  any  but  a  French  woman, 
(from  which  insanity  I  prayed  heaven  to  preserve 
me),  then  must  my  bride  forswear  her  native  land 
and  become  to  all  purposes  a  French  woman.  She 
took  me  quite  seriously  and  gave  me  as  good  as  I  sent. 

Never,  never  could  she  love  any  but  a  Spaniard, 
or  one  who  would  not  give  up  country,  loyalty, 
everything  for  her  sake. 


"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE."     153 

That  was  the  last  time  that  I  said  a  word  to 
Margarita  other  than  I  meant.  I  think  it  was  the 
same  with  her ;  that  love  bowed  our  pride  to  any 
condition,  however  hard,  for  from  that  hour  our 
quarrel  was  which  could  give  up  most  for  the  other. 
I  read  to  her  such  books  as  I  found  in  the  house, 
a  ballad  of  the  Cid  el  Cainpeador  among  others,  and 
I  glowed  with  enthusiasm  over  the  exploits  of  the 
Spanish  hero  and  swore  that  they  were  the  most 
glorious  ever  performed. 

But  Margarita  had  heard  of  Bayard  and  main- 
tained that  the  gentle  Frenchman  sans  peur  et  sans 
reproche  was  the  ideal  knight. 

Don  Raimon  smiled  at  these  disputes.  He  saw 
plainly  enough  how  matters  were  going  with  us, 
and  he  remembered  his  own  youth  and  pressed 
Dona  Villesco's  hand  slyly. 

Sometimes  he  would  vaunt  the  glories  of  the 
Spanish  Escurial  simply  to  rouse  Margarita  to  the 
expression  of  her  admiration  of  the  Louvre,  and 
then  to  express  his  astonishment  that  she  knew  so 
much  of  the  French  art  and  history. 

Often  Margarita  sang  at  her  work. 

"  Sing  us  some  gay  little  song,"  her  mother  com- 
manded one  day.  But  Margarita  replied  : 

"I  would  rather  sing  the  song  of  the  swal- 
lows/' 


154  MARGARITA. 

It  was  a  pensive  chansonette,  which  I  cannot 
translate  into  verse,  but  this  was  its  mean- 
ing. 

"  When  the  summer  is  past  the  swallows  take  their 
flight,  and  the  flowers  die  of  longing;  but  with 
the  spring  the  swallows  return,  and  the  flowers  in 
their  graves  hear  the  songs  of  their  beloved  and 
awake.  Alas,  it  is  not  so  with  the  guests  of  the 
heart.  For  when  the  lover  flies,  love  dies,  and 
though  the  lover  returns,  a  dead  love  cannot  re- 
awaken." ! 

There  was  such  a  thrill  in  her  voice  that  I  asked 
myself  what  such  a  child  could  know  of  love. 

"  She  sings  well,  does  she  not,  Seiior  ?  With  ex- 
pression, is  it  not  so?"  And  I  realiml  that  I  had 
seemed  impolite  to  the  Sefiora,  for  I  had  not  praised 
her  daughter's  singing. 

"Why  did  Margarita  choose  that  smi^  ?  "  I  asked 
myself.  "Was  it  because  my  answer  had  come 
that  morning  from  the  Viceroy,  commanding  me 
to  go  to  the  City  of  Mexico  and  explain  more  ex- 
plicitly the  meaning  of  my  mission,  and  that  Mar- 
garita was  sorry  that  I  was  going  ? "  My  heart 
leapt  at  the  thought,  and  when  she  presently  filled  a 
watering-pot  at  the  cistern,  preparatory  to  watering 

1  Adapted  from  one  of  the  "  Armonias  "  of  Zaragoza  translated 
by  W.  H.  Biahop. 


" THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE"     155 

her  flowers,  I  crossed  the  patio  and  offered  to  carry 
it  for  her. 

"  Yes,  come,"  she  said,  "  I  want  to  show  you 
where  there  grows  a  night-blooming  cereus.  It 
will  bloom  to-night,  and,  if  you  have  never  seen 
one  in  blossom,  it  is  worth  the  trouble  to  come  into 
the  garden  and  watch  it  open." 

"  Will  you  come,  too  ?  "  I  asked.  "  I  have  some- 
thing which  I  must  say  to  you  before  I  leave." 

"  I  will  come,"  she  promised. 

I  sat  after  supper  talking  with  the  Senor  of  my 
journey.  I  would  take  with  me  only  Jallot,  and 
one  pack  mule,  laden  with  samples  of  my  merchan- 
dise. The  rest  of  my  train  I  had  already  sent  back 
to  Natchitoches,  for  I  could  not  allow  them  to  re- 
main longer  at  the  presidio  as  the  guest  of  Don 
Raimon.  I  would  not  travel  alone,  for  most  for- 
tunately as  it  seemed  to  me,  Fra  Luis  had  dropped 
in  to  bid  the  Senor  farewell,  as  he  too  would  set 
out  on  his  journey  on  the  morrow,  and  we  were 
mutually  glad  to  bear  each  other  company.  The 
priest  stayed  late,  and  after  he  left,  Don  Kaimon 
gave  me  letters  to  friends  of  his  in  Mexico,  and  a 
most  kindly  recommendation  to  the  Due  de  Linares. 
When  I  rose  to  go  to  my  chamber  it  was  midnight, 
and  the  ladies  had  retired.  The  moonlight 
streamed  through  the  open  window.  I  had  not 


156  MARGARITA. 

forgotten  my  rendezvous  with  Margarita,  and  I 
stepped  out  again  into  the  garden.  Was  she  there, 
I  wondered  as  I  descended  the  terrace  into  the 
lower  garden  which  was  not  commanded  by  the 
windows. 

"  You  are  late,  Senor,"  she  said  reproachfully,  for 
Margarita  was  there,  seated  on  a  low  bench  at  the 
foot  of  the  stair.  "  Hush!"  she  whispered,  lifting 
her  hand  as  I  began  to  protest.  "  Watch  the  flower. 
It  is  wonderful." 

I  sat  down  beside  her  and  silently  looked  where 
she  pointed.  The  drooping  bud  had  raised  itself 
proudly,  and  its  white  petals,  like  fingers  inter- 
twined in  prayer,  were  visibly  unclasping.  V 
teriously,  slowly  at  first,  then  suddenly  as  if  by  an 
uncontrollable  impulse,  the  entire  plant  shuddered 
and  the  miraculous  flower  burst  into  bloom. 

It  was  like  an  alabaster  lamp  swung  by  invisible 
chains,  and  a  faint,  sweet  perfume  came  in  pulsa- 
tions as  though  the  flower  were  breathing. 

"  It  is  a  miracle,"  Margarita  repeated.  "  It  is  like 
nothing  else  in  the  world/' 

"  It  is  like  love,"  I  replied,  and  she  hid  her  face 
upon  my  shoulder. 

It  was  sunrise  when  we  returned  to  the  house. 
"  The  swallow  must  go,"  I  said,  "  but  it  will  come 
again,  and  the  flower  must  not  die." 


"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE."     157 

"  I  have  just  begun  to  live,"  Margarita  replied. 

We  talked  of  many  things  that  night,  but  there 
was  no  question  as  to  which  should  give  up  country 
for  the  other.  It  was  too  small  a  thing  to  be  men- 
tioned, though  I  had  taken  the  instant  resolution  to 
make  the  sacrifice  for  her  sake,  and  she  had  also 
decided  to  do  so  for  me. 

I  remember  now,  the  sweet  names  she  called  me, 
and  how  I  wondered  where  she  had  ever  heard 
such  precious  terms  of  endearment :  "  Love  of  my 
loves,  Light  of  my  darkness,  Heart  of  my  heart, 
Perfume  of  all  flowers,  My  little  soul." 

I  could  think  of  nothing  in  French  half  so  sweet, 
though  I  called  her  Mignon<  and  Cherie,  Mon 
treaor  and  Ma  vie. 

After  all  I  did  not  leave  for  Mexico  that  morn- 
ing, for  Fra  Luis  brought  word  that  the  Indians  of 
the  mission  of  San  Juan  Bautista,  weary  of  the 
persecution  of  the  soldiers  of  the  presidio,  and  pos- 
sibly disheartened  because  their  priest  and  protector 
was  going  away,  had  decamped  during  the  night, 
leaving  the  crops  which  they  cultivated  to  rot,  and 
other  industries  of  the  presidio  to  suffer  for  lack  of 
laborers,  and  (what  seemed  to  be  nearly  as  great  a 
calamity  in  the  eyes  of  the  priest),  taking  with  them 
the  precious  opal. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  we  had  spoken  of  it, 


158  MARGARITA. 

but  Fra  Luis'  misfortune  made  him  frank,  and  he 
admitted  that  this  was  the  stone  for  whose  pos- 
session we  had  contended,  and  that  he  had  taken  it 
from  the  body  of  Liotot  after  the  flight  of  his  mur- 
derer. He  had  striven  to  unite  the  Indians  by  its 
display,  but  the  Pueblos  of  the  upper  Rio  Grande 
knew  nothing  of  its  magical  qualities,  only  the 
Texans  had  admitted  that  they  had  heard  of  it 
from  the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi,  and  he  was  be- 
ginning through  its  possession  to  acquire  great 
influence  over  them.  Now  they  had  run  away 
with  it,  his  mission  was  abandoned  and  his  work  at 
an  end. 

Instantly  there  flashed  through  my  mind  another 
explanation  of  the  theft.  My  own  Natchitocbes 
had  recognized  the  talisman  and  had  stolen  it,  in- 
ducing Fra  Luis9  converts  to  go  with  them,  telling 
them  possibly  of  the  kinder  treatment  of  the 
French. 

"  I  think  I  may  be  of  service  in  this  emergency," 
I  said,  and  taking  horse  I  followed  on  their  track, 
overtaking  them  where  they  camped  for  the  night. 
On  the  way  I  happened  to  remark  to  Jallot  that  I 
should  charge  the  Natchitoches  with  stealing, 
whereupon  he  astonished  me  by  confessing  that  be 
had  the  opal  in  his  pocket,  having  taken  it  the 
previous  night,  not  from  any  desire  of  plunder,  but 


"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  MY  PEOPLE."     159 

to  aid  me  in  securing  my  sovereignty  over  the  river 
tribes.  I  was  so  indignant  with  this  proceeding  that 
I  threatened  Jallot  with  hanging,  assuring  him  that 
I  was  capable  of  managing  my  own  affairs.  I  had 
desired  the  opal,  I  admitted,  but  it  was  the  token 
and  seal  of  my  acceptance  as  Weenonah's  husband, 
and  I  was  no  longer  a  candidate  for  that  position. 
It  was  the  easiest  way  out  of  the  complication  for 
me  to  return  without  the  gem.  Let  whoever  would 
seek  it.  I  would  none  of  it.  I  was  so  completely 
changed  by  the  exalted  mood  into  which  my  hap- 
piness had  elevated  me  that  I  had  no  thought  of 
my  obligations  to  Bienville,  or  of  securing  the  talis- 
man for  some  other  bridegroom.  Jallot  gave  up 
the  jewel,  craving  my  forgiveness  very  humbly, 
which  I  reluctantly  decided  to  grant. 

Promising  the  Indians  as  Don  Raimon  had  given 
his  word,  that  they  should  not  in  future  be  molested 
by  the  Spanish  soldiers,  I  succeeded  in  inducing 
them  to  return  to  their  mission.  Don  Raimon  and 
Fra  Luis  were  both  grateful  and  surprised  at  my 
success,  and  both  declared  that  I  was  a  born  Indian 
leader,  since  I,  a  perfect  stranger,  had  more  in- 
fluence over  these  people  than  either  the  commander 
of  the  presidio  or  their  priest.  In  an  excess  of  good 
nature  I  returned  the  opal  to  Fra  Luis. 

I  think  that  in  all  my  life  I  never  saw  a  man  so 


160  MARGARITA. 

petrified  with  astonishment.  He  was  hardly  able 
to  mumble  his  thanks,  receiving  it  from  my  hands 
with  the  utmost  confusion. 

Jallot  made  a  gesture  of  despair.  I  believe  that 
both  he  and  the  padre  thought  that  I  had  taken 
leave  of  my  senses. 

Our  departure  for  Mexico  was  set  for  the  follow- 
ing morning,  but,  although  I  had  not  slept  for 
thirty-six  hours,  I  did  not  close  my  eyes  that  night, 
but  spent  it  as  I  had  the  preceding  in  the  garden 
with  Margarita.  There  was  no  marvelous  opening 
blossom  to  watch  as  upon  the  night  of  our  be- 
trothal, but  the  stars  came  out,  and  I  told  her  their 
names  as  far  as  I  knew  them.  Orion  the  mighty 
hunter  was  just  overhead,  followed  by  the  dog-star. 

"  You  are  ray  Orion,"  Margarita  said,  "  and  I  am 
the  little  star  that  will  always  follow  you." 

Then  and  there  we  had  our  first  and  only  quarrel, 
for  I  persisted  that  she  was  my  goddess  and  I  the 
follower,  and  I  told  her  of  the  resolution  I  had 
made  as  soon  as  I  had  fulfilled  my  mission,  to  go 
back  to  Bienville  and  give  up  my  allegiance  to 
France,  returning  to  make  her  my  wife  and  to  be- 
come a  "hacendado"  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio 
Grande. 

"  Nay,"  she  replied,  "  I  will  not  suffer  it,  for  it  is 
the  wife's  duty  to  give  up  home  and  parents  and  go 


"THY  PEOPLE  SHALL  BE  HY  PEOPLE."     161 

to  her  husband's  country.  You  shall  not  give  up 
your  great  office,  your  responsible  post,  your  career, 
your  future,  your  loyalty  for  me.  I  have  nothing 
to  sacrifice,  but  everything  to  gain.  I  shall  go  with 
you." 

We  could  not  decide  the  question,  though  we 
quarreled  until  morning.  Lucia  blew  the  horn 
which  called  the  family  to  breakfast  before  we  pre- 
vailed upon  ourselves  to  ascend  the  terrace.  The 
Senor  and  the  Senora  stood  under  the  little  red 
lamp,  and  looked  at  us  keenly.  "  You  have  risen 
early,"  Dofia  Villesco  said. 

"  No,  mother,"  I  replied,  "  we  have  not  slept," 
and  they  gave  us  their  blessing. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


IN   WHICH  I  VERY  NEARLY  BECOME  A  TBAITOB. 

And  the  bonds  of  allegiance  that  fetter  the  spirit,  the  oaths  of  obe- 
dience sworn  in  the  past. 

Shall  be  words  of  the  lesson  of  life  we  inherit,  embraced,  under- 
stood, superseded  at  last; 
We  are  done  with  the  gods  of  oar  old  adoration,  we  acknowledge 

they  served  in  their  turn,  and  were  fair, 
But  we  go,  for  behold!  after  long  preparation  what  no  man  has 

dared  to  discover,  we  dare. 
Till  the  body  and  soul  and  all  time 

Shall  IN"-  l.lmded, 
Aspiration  and  virtue  and  crime 
Comprehended. 

—George  Oabet  Lodge. 

UA  LUIS  accom- 
panied me  in  my  jour- 
ney from  Presidio  del 
Norte  to  the  City  of 
Mexico.  Of  the  events 
of  that  long  ride  I  do 
not  purpose  making  a 
chronicle.  It  is  enough 
to  say  that  we  passed 
through  a  most  inter- 
esting country  and  saw 
many  strange  peoples, 
animals,  birds  and  flowers ;  and  that  I  never  had  a 

162 


NEAELY  BECOME  A   TRAITOE.          163 

more  agreeable  compagnon  de  voyage.  He  was 
never  weary  of  expressing  his  admiration  of  what 
he  called  my  genius  for  the  management  of  Indians. 
I  disclaimed  all  his  praise,  telling  him  that  it  be- 
longed however  to  Bienville,  and  that  I  simply 
adopted  his  own  rule  in  the  treatment  of  every 
tribe.  "  And  what  is  that  ?  "  Fra  Luis  asked. 

"Absolute  truth  and  justice,"  I  replied.  "Bien- 
ville is  a  stern  master.  He  never  allows  a  crime  to 
pass  unpunished,  but  he  is  as  inflexible  with  his 
own  men  as  with  the  Indians.  The  Natchez  know 
that  he  had  a  Frenchman  hung  for  killing  an 
Indian  without  provocation.  I  have  followed  his 
example,  in  this,  that  I  have  never  broken  my  word 
with  any  man  or  woman,  white  or  red,  friend  or 
foe,  and  I  never  will." 

I  think  that  Fra  Luis  was  really  fond  of  me,  that 
my  impulsive  act  in  giving  him  the  opal  won  his 
heart,  though  he  was  perfectly  ready  to  sacrifice 
his  affections  as  every  other  consideration  for  what 
he  thought  was  his  duty.  I  was  strongly  drawn  to 
him,  and  I  told  him  of  all  my  life  up  to  the  present 
moment,  with  the  exception  of  my  love  for  Dona 
Margarita ;  that  was  too  wonderful,  too  holy  an  ex- 
perience to  be  talked  of;  but  I  told  him  of  my 
adventure  with  the  Natchez  Indians,  and  of  Wee- 
nonah,  of  my  strange  adoption  by  the  tribe  which 


164  MARGARITA. 

lacked  only  the  presentation  of  the  opal  to  be  a 
binding  contract,  which  would  give  to  my  descend- 
ants the  kingship  of  the  allied  tribes  of  the  Great 
River. 

"And  why  do  you  lightly  give  this  up?"  he 
asked,  "  since  you  tell  me  that  the  Indian  Princess 
is  not  unattractive." 

"  She  does  not  care  for  me,"  I  equivocated ; 
"  strange  as  it  may  seem,  she  assured  me  that  she 
preferred  Henri  de  Tonty." 

"Then  if  Tonty  had  the  opal  he  might  marry 
her?"  the  padre  questioned. 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  somewhat  against  my  will,  for 
I  did  not  care  to  have  Fra  Luis  proceed  further  in 
his  deductions. 

"  Tonty,  or  any  one  else,"  he  mused,  "  and  if  a 
Spaniard  presented  himself  in  the  country  of  the 
Natchez,  the  opal  would  guarantee  his  adoption  into 
the  royal  family.  I  do  not  quite  understand,  Sefior, 
why  you  have  placed  an  advantage  so  dangerous  to 
your  country  in  the  hands  of  a  Spaniard." 

u  I  allow  no  one  to  question  my  loyalty,"  I  re- 
plied loftily,  "  but  I  claim  first  of  all  to  be  a  gentle- 
man. I  could  not  serve  my  country  by  retaining 
a  jewel  obtained  from  you  by  theft.  Let  me  assure 
you,  however,  that  should  you  or  any  one  of  your 
nation  attempt  to  gain  possession  of  the  Natchez 


NEARLY  BECOME  A  TRAITOR.          165 

country,  or  even  of  my  fort  of  Natch  itoches,  the 
Indians  would  oppose  your  occupation,  and  I  would 
be  the  first  to  lead  them  against  you." 

He  looked  at  me  with  an  inscrutable  expression 
which  seemed  to  read  me  through  and  through,  and 
I  had  the  mortification  of  feeling  that  he  did  not 
believe  me. 

"  Doubtless,  doubtless,"  he  replied,  with  an  affec- 
tation of  indifference.  "  In  any  case  our  two  gov- 
ernments are  now  at  peace,  and  there  could  be  no 
hostilities  between  our  settlements  on  this  side  of 
the  water." 

Our  train  had  been  increased  as  we  proceeded 
southward,  and  I  was  constantly  surprised  to  see 
how  the  country  had  been  opened  up  and  settled 
since  its  occupation  by  the  Spaniards.  I  was  as- 
tonished also  at  the  evidences  of  the  civilization  of  the 
Aztecs  so  superior  to  that  of  our  own  Indian  tribes. 
We  halted  for  the  night  at  haciendas  where  the 
coffee  and  sugar  plantations  were  worked  by  Indian 
serfs,  who  submitted  docilely  to  this  labor  as  our 
northern  Indians  would  never  have  done.  The 
climate  too  favored  the  Spanish  colonists,  for  though 
it  was  now  nearly  Christmas,  the  weather  was 
delightful. 

At  Queretaro,  not  far  from  the  capital,  Fra  Luis 
left  me  to  bury  himself  in  the  monastery,  whose 


166  MARGARITA. 

prison-like  mass  towered  above  us.  I  congratulated 
myself  that  I  was  not  a  monk,  little  fancying  that 
I  was  soon  to  be  an  actual  prisoner.  On  my  arrival 
at  the  City  of  Mexico  I  was  not  to  meet  with  the 
brotherly  love  which  I  had  been  led  to  expect,  for 
my  goods  were  confiscated  at  the  octroi  as  contra- 
band, and  I  was  arrested  under  the  charge  of 
smuggling  and  confined  in  the  common  prison. 

I  wrote  immediately  to  the  Due  de  Linares,  en- 
closing Don  Raimon's  letter  of  recommendation, 
and  my  passport  from  Bienville.  I  also  wrote  to 
Fra  Luis  and  to  my  beloved  Margarita,  but  received 
no  response  from  any  of  them  for  many  weeks. 

Jallot  was  at  liberty,  and  roamed  the  city,  sub- 
sisting by  any  chance  employment  which  fell  in  his 
way.  When  he  was  lucky  enough  to  be  in  funds 
he  brought  me  fruit  or  tobacco,  and  he  never  failed 
to  shave  me  and  bestow  upon  me  the  personal  at- 
tention of  a  devoted  lackey.  While  washing  my 
linen  in  the  river  he  became  acquainted  with  a 
laundress,  and  by  carrying  her  bundles  and  aiding 
her  in  wringing  her  sheets  he  so  gained  her  favor 
that  after  a  short  aquatic  courtship  they  were  mar- 
ried, and  his  subsistence  was  for  the  time  secured. 
It  was,  however,  an  ill-assorted  union,  and  his 
bride,  finding  him  less  assiduous  in  sharing  her 
labor  after  their  marriage,  cruelly  turned  him  out 


NEARLY  BECOME  A  TRAITOR.          167 

of  doors  when  the  honeymoon  was  hardly  over. 
But,  though  fickle  in  his  love  for  woman,  Jallot 
never  failed  in  his  devotion  to  me.  He  could  not 
forgive  me  for  letting  the  opal  slip  through  my 
fingers,  and  he  treated  me  as  a  child,  or  as  one  not 
possessed  of  his  entire  faculties.  Striving  to  make 
him  understand  the  point  of  honor,  he  spread  his 
hands  in  despair. 

"  Do  you  think  that  coward  priest  will  ever  fight 
you  in  a  fair  field  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Shall  I  take  him 
a  challenge  for  a  duel?  If  so  he  will  have  the 
choice  of  weapons.  He  has  chosen  them,  my  dear 
master,  they  are  ruse  and  treachery.  If  you  are  to 
fight  him  it  must  be  by  strategy.  Swear  to  me 
that  you  will  never  lose  another  such  an  oppor- 
tunity." 

"  I  swear  this  much,"  I  replied,  "  that  if  Fra  Luis 
makes  me  a  present  of  the  opal  I  will  not  return  it, 
but  take  it  to  Bienville."  I  little  imagined  how 
sorely  I  would  be  tempted  to  break  the  promise. 
On  this  one  point  at  least  Jallot  was  shrewder  than 
I,  for  he  always  distrusted  Fra  Luis,  and  he  de- 
clared that  he  had  seen  him  in  the  city  on  the  day 
after  my  arrest,  and  that  he  was  sure  that  the 
priest  recognized  and  avoided  him.  He  also  in- 
sisted that  while  on  our  journey  Fra  Luis  had  con- 
versed apart  with  one  of  the  guards  of  the  train, 


168 

and  that  this  fellow  had  directed  the  customs  of- 
ficial to  examine  my  baggage,  so  that  my  ai 
was  due  to  the  priest. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  his  conjecture  was 
correct,  and  that  it  was  through  the  advice  of  Fra 
Luis  that  the  Viceroy  sent  an  order  to  Don  Raimon 
di  Villesco  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  to  take  a 
company  of  soldiers  and  escort  a  party  of  priests 
and  laborers  who  would  found  several  new  mis- 
sions, the  most  northerly  at  a  point  on  the  Red 
River,  directly  opposite  my  fort  of  Natchitoches, 
and  there  erect  a  presidio  for  the  protection  of  a 
mission.  If  interrupted  in  this  work  he  was  not  to 
hesitate  to  attack  and  capture  the  French  fort. 

This  letter  was  delivered  to  Don  Raimon  simul- 
taneously with  my  own  to  Margarita,  which  an- 
nounced my  imprisonment,  and  it  had  a  very 
different  effect  from  the  one  counted  upon.  If  Fra 
Luis  had  known  of  my  betrothal  to  Margarita,  Don 
Raimon  di  Villesco  would  not  have  been  entrusted 
with  this  expedition. 

Instead  of  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  mission- 
aries, which  was  set  for  early  in  March,  Don  Rai- 
mon immediately  came  to  Mexico  to  intercede  with 
the  Viceroy  on  my  behalf.  It  thus  happened  that 
some  three  months  after  my  incarceration  I  was 
transported  with  joy  by  a  visit  from  Margarita  her- 


NEARLY  BECOME  A  TRAITOR.          169 

self.  The  resolute  girl  had  insisted  on  accompany- 
ing her  father,  and  her  intercession  with  the 
Viceroy  was  undoubtedly  the  means  of  my  release. 

They  could  not  believe  that  Fra  Luis  was  re- 
sponsible for  my  misfortunes,  for  when  they  sought 
and  found  him  at  Queretaro,  he  professed  himself 
utterly  ignorant  of  all  of  these  occurrences,  and 
accompanying  them  to  the  city,  made  a  great  show 
of  interest  in  my  behalf. 

He  assured  me  that  he  had  not  received  my  letter 
and  that  he  was  astonished  to  find  me  in  prison. 
The  brothers  of  the  monastery  of  Queretaro  elected 
nine  of  their  number,  with  three  lay-brothers,  for 
the  Texan  missions,  and,  as  Fra  Luis  informed  them 
that  I  had  brought  the  call  from  the  Indians  for 
the  reestablishment  of  the  missionaries,  they  signed 
his  petition  to  the  Viceroy  that  I  might  accompany 
Don  Villesco  as  guide  to  the  expedition. 

The  Due  de  Linares,  besought  in  these  two  direc- 
tions on  my  behalf,  was  pleased  to  grant  me  a 
personal  interview,  sending  Fra  Luis  to  fetch  me  to 
him. 

I  think  that  both  of  them  must  have  believed 
that  my  spirit  would  be  broken  by  my  imprison- 
ment, for  the  Duke  informed  me  that,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  Fra  Luis,  he  had  decided  to  offer  me 
a  captaincy  in  the  Spanish  army,  with  a  salary  of 


170  MARGARITA. 

five  hundred  piastres,  if  I  would  transfer  my  al- 
legiance from  Louis  XIV  to  his  grandson  Philip  V 
of  Spain.  Now  this  was  not  so  very  different  a 
thing  from  what  I  had  voluntarily  promised  Marga- 
rita that  I  would  ask  Bienville's  permission  to  do. 
But  to  be  paid  for  this  change  of  allegiance,  and  to 
take  service  which  might  make  it  necessary  for  me 
to  fight  against  my  old  comrades  in  arms,  gave  the 
transaction  a  less  attractive  aspect. 

"  We  are  now  at  peace,"  I  said,  "  and  there  does 
not  seem  to  be  any  prospect  that  our  two  countries 
will  ever  again  engage  in  warfare.  I  do  not  see  any 
reason  why  I  should  not  serve  you  against  the 
English,  the  savages,  or  any  possible  foe  except  the 
French,  though  frankly  I  would  rather  not  enter 
your  army." 

A  meaning  look  passed  between  the  Duke  and 
Fra  Luis,  and  the  latter  took  up  the  word. 

"  You  need  not  take  service,  at  present"  he  said 
in  his  oiliest  accents.  "  Remain  a  simple  settler  if 
you  like  until  you  are  needed.  It  is  with  the 
savages  that  we  shall  desire  your  aid,  to  assist  me 
in  my  labors  for  their  conversion.  I  am  responsi- 
ble for  the  Duke's  extraordinary  favour,  for  I  have 
told  him  of  your  wonderful  genius  as  an  Indian 
leader,  of  the  confidence  which  you  have  already 
gained  among  the  Natchez  and  the  river  tribes, 


NEARLY  BECOME  A  TRAITOR.          171 

that  no  one  among  our  own  people  is  so  well  en- 
dowed by  nature,  or  so  happily  favored  by  fortune 
for  the  task  of  becoming  their  chief. 

"  I  have  explained  the  part  which  the  opal  has 
played  in  our  acquaintance,  how  it  has  been 
diamond  cut  diamond  between  us,  and  that  we 
have  reached  a  stage  in  the  game  when  neither  can 
win  without  the  cooperation  of  the  other."  He 
placed  his  hand  within  his  breast,  and  withdrawing 
a  little  chamois-skin  bag,  shook  the  opal  into  my 
palm. 

"  I  give  it  to  you  as  freely,  as  trustfully  as  you 
surrendered  it  to  me.  Take  it,  and  all  the  privi- 
leges and  responsibilities  which  it  will  bring  you 
with  my  blessing." 

I  would  have  flung  the  bribe  in  his  face,  but  for 
my  oath  to  Jallot.  The  impossible  had  happened, 
for  a  third  time  the  magic  talisman  lay  in  my 
hand.  Not  a  word  had  been  said  of  treachery,  of 
the  price  which  I  was  to  pay  for  my  captain's  com- 
mission, or  for  this  gift  of  the  Jesuit ;  but  I  com- 
prehended, as  clearly  as  if  it  had  been  written  in 
set  terms,  that  in  case  war  should  break  out  be- 
tween France  and  Spain  unusual  service  would  be 
expected  of  me. 

"  Let  me  understand,"  I  said  with  a  dry  tongue, 
"  exactly  what  is  demanded  of  me.  For  the  present 


172  MARGARITA. 

I  am  free  to  go  and  come,  to  take  up  my  residence 
where  I  please  ?  " 

"  Free  to  marry  your  Natchez  Princess,"  Fra  Luis 
replied  glibly.  "  Free  to  return  to  your  Natchi- 
toches  castle,  and  to  resume  the  command  of  your 
French  soldiers,  while  awaiting  the  Duke's  further 
orders." 

"Then  how  can  I  accept  the  captaincy  which 
your  highness  has  offered  me  ?  n 

"  It  will  not  be  signed,"  said  the  Duke,  "  until 
sealed  orders  are  sent  you  to  report  for  duty." 

I  drew  a  long  breath.  "  And  until  then  it  will 
not  be  necessary  for  me  to  break  with  my  present 
commander  or  to  give  up  my  allegiance  to  France." 

"  Not  only  not  necessary ',"  replied  the  Duke,  with 
an  impatient  movement,  "  but  you  are  especially 
cautioned  against  betraying  by  any  word  or  action 
the  confidence  which  we  repose  in  you.  I  do  not 
see,  Senor,  how  you  can  fail  to  understand  the 
nature  of  the  work  required  of  you.  Strengthen 
your  influence  over  the  Indians  so  that  they  will 
stand  by  you  no  matter  under  what  flag  you  fight. 
Fortify  your  position  at  Natchitoches,  so  that  you 
can  hold  it  against  attack  from  whatever  quarter, 
and  if  a  political  change  of  grave  importance  takes 
place,  your  future,  whatever  the  event,  will  be 


NEARLY  BECOME  A  TRAITOR.          173 

To  have  spoken  out  indignantly  while  in  the 
Duke's  power,  would  have  been  the  sheerest  folly. 
I  told  myself  that  no  bribe  was  great  enough  to 
make  me  turn  traitor  to  France,  but  that  I  felt  the 
iron  hand  within  the  velvet  glove,  and  knew  that 
my  liberty  and  probably  my  life  depended  on  their 
supposing  me  their  tool,  so  I  replied  that  I  fully 
understood  his  highness'  meaning,  and  that  he  might 
rely  that  I  would  honorably  fulfil  all  my  engage- 
ments. 

He  looked  at  me  keenly.  "  You  are  a  free  man, 
Senor,"  he  said,  "  and  Fra  Luis  must  not  take  all  the 
credit  for  your  release.  If  you  will  pass  into  the 
next  room  you  will  find  other  friends  who  have 
labored  with  me  in  your  behalf." 

He  threw  open  a  door  leading  from  his  study 
into  an  adjoining  salon,  and  Margarita  came  for- 
ward leaning  on  her  father's  arm.  She  was  trem- 
bling violently  and  her  eyes  sought  mine  in  an 
agony  of  inquiry. 

"I  give  this  gentleman  into  your  custody, 
Senorita,"  said  the  Viceroy,  and  as  I  sprang  to  her 
side  Fra  Luis  must  have  guessed  our  secret,  and  for 
the  first  time  have  doubted  his  own  wisdom  in 
selecting  me  for  the  business  with  which  I  had  been 
entrusted. 

He  was  an  admirable  judge  of  human  nature,  and 


174  MARGARITA. 

he  had  made  a  close  study  of  all  my  faults  and 
foibles.  He  knew  the  frivolity  of  my  character 
and  his  verdict  had  been  "Unstable  as  water." 
But  he  had  not  reckoned  on  an  influence  like  that 
of  Margarita's,  the  pole  star  which  would  change  to 
undeviating  constancy  my  fickle,  magnetic  nature. 
He  little  thought  that  if  there  had  been  no  saving 
atom  of  honesty  in  my  own  soul,  the  unendurable 
pain  of  standing  ashamed  before  her  would  have 
kept  me  from  dishonor.  "She  is  Spanish,"  Fra 
Luis  doubtless  argued,  "and  will  knit  him  more 
closely  to  us ; "  but  even  with  that  thought  must 
have  come  the  revelation  that  I  would  never  marry 
Weenonah,  and  he  must  have  bitterly  regretted  his 
surrender  of  the  opal. 

I  could  not  repress  a  glance  of  triumph,  but 
though  a  swift  apprehension  showed  itself  for  an 
instant  in  Fra  Luis9  mobile  face,  it  was  instantly 
hidden  beneath  the  cold  mask  under  which  he 
habitually  concealed  his  thoughts.  I  was  con- 
gratulating myself  too  soon.  I  did  not  yet  know 
Fra  Luis.  We  dined  with  the  Viceroy  who  com- 
municated to  the  Yillescos  only  a  part  of  the  pre- 
ceding conversation.  I  was  to  journey  with  Don 
Raimon  and  the  padres  to  Natchitoches,  and  in  its 
vicinity  (but  on  the  side  of  the  river  recognized  by 
the  French  as  Spanish),  Don  Raimon  was  to  erect 


NEARLY  BECOME  A  TRAITOR.          175 

a  presidio  and  establish  the  last  of  the  new  chain  of 
missions. 

We  left  the  City  of  Mexico  a  few  days  later,  ac- 
companied by  the  missionary  priests,  and  at  the 
head  of  a  body  of  troops  under  the  command  of 
Don  Eaimon.  I  carried  the  opal  talisman  with  me, 
though  with  no  intention,  God  knows,  of  earning  a 
commission  in  the  Spanish  Army  by  any  perfidy  to 
France  or  to  Margarita.  I  was  a  free  man  again, 
except  as  bound  to  her,  and  that  proud  freedom  and 
sweet  servitude,  I  swore  to  myself,  should  be  ended 
only  by  my  death. 

Was  ever  any  journey  so  delightful  as  that  long 
ride  back  to  Presidio  del  Norte  ?  Margarita  seated 
on  her  little  mustang  with  the  gay  Mexican  trap- 
pings and  silver  bells.  I  at  her  side,  mounted  on 
a  superb  horse  the  gift  of  the  Due  de  Linares? 
None  surely  except  its  prolongation  to  my  Natchi- 
toches  chateau.  We  halted  at  her  home  for  further 
preparations  for  the  northern  journey,  for  here 
in  the  blossoming  April,  which  is  the  May  time 
of  this  southern  country,  in  the  little  Mission 
Church  of  San  Juan  Bautista,  Dona  Margarita, 
daughter  of  Spain,  became  a  dame  of  France. 
Very  gay  were  the  wedding  festivities,  the  entire 
presidio  firing  salutes,  and  all  the  mission  Indians 
scattering  flowers,  as  we  rode  aw;ay.  Very  gener- 


176  MARGARITA. 

ous  were  the  two  good  parents,  a  train  of  ten  mules 
carrying  our  household  goods  in  their  double 
panniers.  So  the  further  march  became  a  wedding 
procession.  Each  week  we  founded  a  mission  and 
a  presidio  and  left  some  of  the  soldiers  and  a  priest. 
After  San  Antonio  de  Bejar,  which  was  already  in 
existence,  the  missions  of  San  Miguel  de  Cuellar,  of 
Guadalupe,  of  Purissima  Concepcion,  of  Dolores, 
and  finally  of  Adaes,  dotted  our  route  like  the  beads 
in  a  rosary. 

We  left  Fra  "Hidalgo"  the  gentleman  father, 
with  the  Tejas  Indians,  and  great  was  their  joy  to 
receive  again  their  venerable  missionary. 

My  good  fellows  at  Fort  Natchitoches  welcomed 
us  with  whoops  and  salvos  of  joy,  (for  they  had 
begun  to  fear  that  I  was  dead),  and  there  were  ffites 
after  the  French  fashion  to  celebrate  my  marriage 
Picard  playing  for  the  dancing  until  be  fell  from  the 
table  on  which  he  sat  for  very  weariness.  They 
entertained  Don  Ilaimon  and  his  soldiers  in  grate- 
ful reciprocation  of  the  hospitality  which  he  had 
accorded  them  at  his  presidio  of  del  Norte,  and 
gangs  of  Indians  were  told  off  to  hew  timber  and 
help  him  build  the  Adaes  stockade — just  seven 
miles  from  our  own. 

Why  should  such  good  comrades  have  ever  been 
enemies  ?  And  of  what  moment  was  it  to  us  that 


NEARLY  BECOME  A   TRAITOR.          177 

Spain  and  France  were  shortly  to  break  their 
pacte  defamille  f  "Was  there  not  land  enough  for 
us  both  in  this  illimitable  wilderness,  and  better 
business  for  our  swords  than  the  cutting  of  friendly 
throats  ? 

My  men  hastily  built  themselves  a  new  barracks 
at  a  little  distance,  leaving  the  original  hunting 
chateau  to  us,  and  Margarita  busied  herself  in 
transforming  the  rough  interior  with  the  dainty 
objects  which  formed  her  corbeitte  de  mariage. 

It  amused  her  to  insist  that  though  a  dame  of 
France  she  was  still  a  daughter  of  Spain.  Since 
the  Ked  or  well  named  Bloody  River  was  the 
boundary  between  the  possessions  of  the  two 
kingdoms,  Natchitoches  Island  should  by  rights  be 
half  Spanish.  Therefore  she  drew  an  imaginary  line 
through  the  fort  and  everything  on  the  south  of 
the  line  she  would  have  it,  was  hers,  and  Spanish, 
and  on  the  north  was  mine  and  French.  When  I 
crossed  this  line  I  was  her  guest,  when  she  stepped 
to  the  northern  side  of  my  room  she  was  mine. 

While  holding  tenaciously  to  her  own  traditions, 
she  was  more  jealous  than  I  of  ray  own  honor. 
"  You  are  French,"  she  would  say,  "  and  I  would 
never  forgive  myself  if  your  marriage  with  me 
made  you  forgetful  of  your  loyalty." 

It  was  hard  for  me  to  tear  myself  away  from  my 


178  MARGARITA. 

bride,  but  she  herself  reminded  me  of  my  duty  to 
report  to  Bienville  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

My  father-in-law  had  decided  to  accompany  me, 
to  visit  New  Orleans,  and  Mobile,  after  which  he 
would  proceed  to  Pensacola  and  then  return  to 
Mexico  by  ship. 

So  with  many  tears  on  her  part  and  a  haunting 
misgiving  on  my  own,  but  with  no  foreknowledge  of 
the  bitterness  and  desolation  of  my  next  home- 
coming, I  left  my  wife,  ray  Margarita,  and  was 
rowed  down  the  Bloody  River. 


CHAPTER  X. 


TONTY  MAIN  DE    FEB. 

We  must  fathom  the  sense  and  the  spirit  till  we  stand  self-pos- 
sessed of  the  whole  — 

Onward  ever  and  outward  ever,  over  the  uttermost  verge  of  the 
Soul! 

— George  Cabot  Lodge. 

URNING  from  the 
Red  River  into  the 
Mississippi,  I  rightly 
judged  that  Bienville 
might  be  at  the  new- 
Fort  Rosalie  in  the 
Natchez  country,  and 
I  shaped  my  course 
up  the  river.  I  found 
my  friend  full  of  care. 
His  brother,  the 
undaunted,  resource- 
ful d'Iberville,  had 
passed  away,  leaving  a  heavy  mantle  for  Bienville's 
young  shoulders.  He  had  come  back  from  France 
at  the  head  of  a  fleet,  intending  to  drive  the  Eng- 
lish from  the  Gulf.  He  captured  their  islauds  of 

179 


180  MARGARITA. 

St.  Christopher  and  Nevis,  with  all  their  vessels, 
cargoes,  negroes,  and  other  chattels,  and  had  lev  IK  I 
great  ransoms  upon  the  inhabitants.  Next  he 
planned  to  raid  the  Carolina  coast ;  but  stopping  at 
Havana,  his  crews  contracted  the  yellow  fever 
there  raging,  and  the  iron  man,  whom  neither 
sword  nor  storm  could  harm?  sickened  and  died 
with  eight  hundred  of  his  men. 

No  wonder  that  Bienville  had  a«rnl  with  all  of 
this  sorrow  and  responsibility.  I  clasped  bis  hand 
hard,  and  his  face  brightened.  "  I  hope  you  have 
good  news  for  us,"  he  said ;  "  nay  I  am  sure  of  it,  and 
it  is  certainly  a  good  omen  that  you  have  brought 
us  so  distinguished  a  guest  as  Don  Itaimon  di 
Villesco." 

He  welcomed  the  Senor  to  his  own  table,  paraded 
his  men  in  his  honor,  and  continued  his  courtesies 
even  after  my  explanation  of  the  failure  of  my  at- 
tempt to  secure  free  trade. 

In  private  he  confessed  to  me  his  disappointment, 
adding, — "  With  me  everything  has  gone  wrong  in 
these  two  years. 

"  It  is  the  same  story  everywhere,  and  Crozat  is 
mad  for  trade.  The  warehouses  at  Mobile  and 
New  Orleans  are  full  of  merchandise  for  which  we 
have  no  market.  The  settlers  are  too  poor  to  buy, 
and  Crozat's  charges  are  enormous.  The  Indian 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  FEB.  181 

trade  is  trifling.  We  have  the  same  returns  from 
the  freighting  schooners  which  we  have  sent  out 
to  Pensacola,  and  the  islands  of  the  Spanish  Main. 
They  are  suspicious  and  will  have  no  dealings  with 
us.  Crozat's  one  idea  is  to  make  money  out  of  the 
colony.  He  does  not  consider  that  first  the  coun- 
try must  be  explored,  secured  and  settled,  and  even 
then  we  must  develop  its  agriculture  and  its  mines, 
before  we  can  have  exports  with  which  to  pay  for 
all  these  luxuries  for  which  we  have  no  need.  I 
sent  him  a  ship-load  of  lumber  and  peltry,  but  he 
is  not  satisfied,  and  demands  ingots  of  silver  and 
casks  of  gems.  He  reproaches  me  with  the  im- 
mense wealth  that  Spain  has  taken  out  of  Mexico, 
but  he  forgets  that  Spain  has  been  in  possession 
there  for  two  hundred  years,  and  that  she  found  it 
a  civilized  country.  D'Iberville  could  have  cap- 
tured a  few  of  their  plate  ships,  had  he  been  allowed 
to  do  so,  and  could  have  sent  the  Spaniard  packing 
from  Pensacola — but  we  are  at  peace  and  our  hands 
are  tied— and  likely  to  be  in  the  future." 

"  Amen,"  I  cried,  "  but  what  gives  Crozat  the  as- 
surance to  dictate  to  you  ?  What  has  a  non-resi- 
dent merchant,  however  wealthy,  to  do  with  the 
policy  of  the  Governor  of  Louisiana  ?  " 

"  Governor ! "  Bienville  replied  with  a  bitter 
laugh.  "  He  owns  the  governor  as  truly  as  he  does 


184  MARGARITA. 

gloomily.  u  I  did  not  leave  her  to  land  unwelcomed. 
I  notified  Tonty  of  their  coming,  and  he  is  there." 

"  So  this  is  the  explanation.  You  are  jealous  of 
a  man  whom  she  never  saw,  and  that  man  Tonty." 

"  It  is  because  it  is  Tonty  that  I  came  away  and 
left  him  an  undisputed  field." 

"  Nonsense,  man,"  I  exclaimed.  "  I  don't  believe 
that  they  were  made  for  each  other.  Fancy  Mad- 
emoiselle on  Tonty's  Rock  ?  This  is  all  a  romance 
of  the  imagination  to  melt  away  upon  acquain- 
tance." 

"You  insult  the  intelligence  of  each  of  them 
when  you  say  that,  St.  Denis.  Tonty  himself  is 
weary  of  barbarism,  and  homesick  for  civilization. 
He  would  never  take  her  to  his  Rock,  but  would 
gladly  go  back  with  her  to  Paris.  You  should 
have  seen  him  when  he  stopped  here  on  his  way 
down  the  river.  He  was  as  eager,  as  bashful  as  a 
boy.  He  trembled  with  excitement,  and  blushed  as 
he  spoke  of  her.  '  It  is  so  long  since  I  have  seen  a 
lady,'  he  said  to  me,  '  that  my  eyes  are  hungry  for 
the  sight  of  one.  Good  women  and  true,  both  In- 
dian and  Canadian,  I  have  known,  but  a  Parisicnnc, 
Bienville,  that  wonderful  flower  of  our  noblest  in 
race,  our  most  refined  in  breeding,  a  Marquise  or  a 
Maid  of  Honor,  I  have  not  seen  since  I  was  in 
France.  Will  she  be  disgusted  with  my  rough 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  FEB.  185 

ways  and  rougher  appearance  ?  If  only  that 
barber  of  St.  Denis'  were  here  to  put  me  in  order. 
Have  you  no  clothing  to  lend  me  ? '  etc.,  etc.  You 
would  have  had  no  doubt  how  the  romance  would 
end  if  you  could  have  heard  him.  And  I  en- 
couraged him,  clinching  my  heart  all  the  time  in 
my  two  hands.  I  told  him  not  to  try  to  disfigure 
himself,  that  Mademoiselle  would  find  his  blanket 
coat  and  fur  cap  more  adorable  than  a  wig  and 
a  brocaded  coat,  that  she  would  recognize  a  man 
when  she  saw  him.  Give  me  some  credit,  St. 
Denis,  for  I  did  my  duty  to  my  friend,  though 
you  little  know  what  it  cost  me."  He  gave  a  dry 
sob,  and  his  head  fell  forward  upon  his  arms  which 
were  resting  upon  the  table.  I  put  my  arm  silently 
around  him  but  said  nothing.  He  gathered  himself 
together  bravely  after  a  moment.  "  I  forgot,"  he 
said,  "you  have  something  to  report  to  me  upon, 
in  my  capacity  of  chief  of  Indian  affairs.  The 
Natchez  are  ready  for  the  promised  alliance.  Did 
you  find  the  talisman  opal  ?  " 

For  answer  I  laid  it  before  him.  He  gave  an 
exclamation  of  delight. 

"  Then  we  will  marry  you  at  once  to  Weenonah. 
Your  expedition  was  successful,  after  all." 

I  explained  why  this  could  not  be,  and  Bienville 
listened  to  the  story  of  my  love  and  marriage  with 


184  MARGARITA. 

gloomily.  "  I  did  not  leave  her  to  land  un  welcomed. 
I  notified  Tonty  of  their  coming,  and  he  is  there." 

"  So  this  is  the  explanation.  You  are  jealous  of 
a  man  whom  she  never  saw,  and  that  man  Tonty." 

"  It  is  because  it  is  Tonty  that  I  came  away  and 
left  him  an  undisputed  field." 

"  Nonsense,  man,"  I  exclaimed.  "  I  don't  believe 
that  they  were  made  for  each  other.  Fancy  Mad- 
emoiselle on  Tonty 's  Rock  ?  This  is  all  a  romance 
of  the  imagination  to  melt  away  upon  acquain- 
tance." 

"You  insult  the  intelligence  of  each  of  them 
when  you  say  that,  St.  Denis.  Tonty  himself  IB 
weary  of  barbarism,  and  homesick  for  civilization. 
He  would  never  take  her  to  his  Rock,  but  would 
gladly  go  back  with  her  to  Paris.  You  should 
have  seen  him  when  he  stopped  here  on  bis  way 
down  the  river.  He  was  as  eager,  as  bashful  as  a 
boy.  He  trembled  with  excitement,  and  blushed  as 
he  spoke  of  her.  ( It  is  so  long  since  I  have  seen  a 
lady,'  he  said  to  me,  '  that  my  eyes  are  hungry  for 
the  sight  of  one.  Good  women  and  true,  both  In- 
dian and  Canadian,  I  have  known,  but  a  Parisicnne, 
Bienville,  that  wonderful  flower  of  our  noblest  in 
race,  our  most  refined  in  breeding,  a  Marquise  or  a 
Maid  of  Honor,  I  have  not  seen  since  I  was  in 
France.  Will  she  be  disgusted  with  my  rough 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  FEE.  185 

ways  and  rougher  appearance  ?  If  only  that 
barber  of  St.  Denis'  were  here  to  put  me  in  order. 
Have  you  no  clothing  to  lend  me  ? '  etc.,  etc.  You 
would  have  had  no  doubt  how  the  romance  would 
end  if  you  could  have  heard  him.  And  I  en- 
couraged him,  clinching  my  heart  all  the  time  in 
ray  two  hands.  I  told  him  not  to  try  to  disfigure 
himself,  that  Mademoiselle  would  find  his  blanket 
coat  and  fur  cap  more  adorable  than  a  wig  and 
a  brocaded  coat,  that  she  would  recognize  a  man 
when  she  saw  him.  Give  me  some  credit,  St. 
Denis,  for  I  did  my  duty  to  my  friend,  though 
you  little  know  what  it  cost  me."  He  gave  a  dry 
sob,  and  his  head  fell  forward  upon  his  arms  which 
were  resting  upon  the  table.  I  put  my  arm  silently 
around  him  but  said  nothing.  He  gathered  himself 
together  bravely  after  a  moment.  "  I  forgot,"  he 
said,  "you  have  something  to  report  to  me  upon, 
in  my  capacity  of  chief  of  Indian  affairs.  The 
Natchez  are  ready  for  the  promised  alliance.  Did 
you  find  the  talisman  opal  ?  " 

For  answer  I  laid  it  before  him.  He  gave  an 
exclamation  of  delight. 

"  Then  we  will  marry  you  at  once  to  Weenonah. 
Your  expedition  was  successful,  after  all." 

I  explained  why  this  could  not  be,  and  Bienville 
listened  to  the  story  of  my  love  and  marriage  with 


186  MARGARITA. 

sympathetic  interest.  "  I  understand,"  he  said  at 
last,  "and  I  rejoice  in  your  happiness;  but  this 
leaves  us  in  a  serious  predicament  If  you  had  not 
obtained  the  opal,  The  Great  Sun  would  have  re- 
fused you  his  sister's  hand.  As  it  is,  even  the 
medicine  man,  Stinging  Serpent,  and  the  most  un- 
friendly of  their  lesser  chiefs,4 The  Bcanlnl  (>m/ 
cannot  object  to  the  marriage.  It  puts  us  in  the 
position  of  declining  to  fill  our  part  of  the  con- 
tract." 

"  Can  we  not  find  some  other  Frenchman  to  take 
my  place  ?  "  I  asked  f utilely. 

"  Have  you  any  one  to  suggest  ?" 

"  Possibly  Jailot,"  I  replied  desperately.  "  He  is 
not  over-fastidious ;  I  think  he  might  be  prevailed 
upon  to  sacrifice  himself." 

Bienville  frowned.  "  St.  Denis,  you  are  incori 
ble.  When  will  you  cease  to  be  frivolous?  I  tdl 
you  that  marriage  is  a  serious  matter,  and  Weenonah 
is  not  an  ordinary  woman.  I  will  not  have  In T 
sacrificed,  however  indifferent  you  may  be  about 
your  valet." 

"  Perhaps  Tonty  can  help  us  out,"  I  suggested. 
"  He  may  have  some  honest  coureur  de  loi*  in  his 
train,  who  would  be  worthy  of  her,  and  equal  to 
the  task  of  living  with  those  savage  people,  and 
holding  them  loyal  to  France." 


"  WEENONAH    18   NOT   AN   ORDINARY    WOMAN* 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  PER.  187 

Bienville  mused  for  a  few  minutes.  "  You  have 
the  solution  of  the  problem,"  he  said,  hopefully. 
"  Go  to  Tonty  and  tell  him  the  situation.  He  will 
have  some  influence  with  Weenonah.  I  will  tell 
the  Natchez  that  you  have  found  the  opal  and  will 
give  it  to  Tonty,  for  we  have  marked  her  aversion 
to  you,  and  have  chosen  as  bridegroom  a  representa- 
tive of  our  nation,  whom  we  consider  more  worthy 
of  her ;  but  that  if  she  does  not  fancy  him  she  may 
bestow  herself  where  she  will,  and  we  will  not  con- 
sider the  alliance  broken.  I  shall  invite  The  Great 
Sun  to  take  her  to  New  Orleans  and  there  meet 
Tonty  in  council.  Provide  for  her  lodgings  in  the 
Ursulline  Convent,  and  see  that  The  Great  Sun  and 
his  party  are  given  a  camping  ground  outside  the 
city.  We  will  confer  later  about  the  marriage  cer- 
emonies. They  must  be  as  magnificent  as  we  can 
contrive." 

"  Good  ! "  I  assented.  "  I  shall  take  the  great- 
est pleasure  in  arranging  Weenonah's  wedding,  since 
I  am  not  to  be  the  party  of  the  first  part.  You 
will  attend  it  of  course." 

"  I  suppose  that  I  must,"  and  he  frowned  gloomily. 

"  It  is  most  necessary  that  you  should  do  so,  and 
at  the  same  time  you  can  make  your  call  of  cere- 
mony on  the  Governor.  You  must  realize  how  es- 
sential it  is  for  you  to  be  in  accord." 


188  MARGARITA. 

"  That  can  never  be  ;  but,  since  you  think  I  have 
been  lacking  in  politeness,  I  will  do  my  best. 
Good-bye,  St.  Denis.  I  am  glad  there  is  at  least 
one  happy  man  in  this  weary  world." 

I  was  determined  that  there  should  be  another, 
and  my  first  call  upon  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac 
mado  me  very  hopeful  that  Bienville  would  some 
day  be  as  happy  as  myself. 

I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  Mademoiselle  and 
to  interest  her  in  my  romance  before  I  rendered 
my  report  to  her  father,  anil  it  was  owing  to  In  r 
intercession  that  he  received  the  news  of  my  failure 
with  more  than  his  usual  composure. 

44  You  have  been  unfortunate,"  he  said,  "  very 
unfortunate,  hut  what  could  have  been  expected ? 
It  is  a  cursed  country.  Everything  is  wrong. 
Why  Crozat  ever  took  it  upon  his  hands  I  cannot 
imagine.  It  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  mismanage- 
ment of  that  stupid  Bienville.  He  hasnotgivm 
me  the  reception  due  to  my  dignity.  Only  a  IV  \v 
salvos  of  artillery  when  the  ship  appeared,  and 
this  wretched  dwelling  assigned  to  us  as  an  execu- 
tive mansion.  No  festivities,  fireworks,  ball  for  the 
ladies,  or  manoeuvres  of  troops  to  celebrate  our 
coming.  Why,  sir,  he  had  not  even  the  courtesy  to 
wait  upon  me  personally,  but  sent  that  savage 
Tonty,  whom  I  nevn  «.uld  endure  when  I  com- 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  PER.  189 

manded  at  Detroit,  and  who  had  the  presumption 
to  draw  away  the  trade  of  my  Indians,  so  that  a 
great  portion  of  the  peltries  which  should  have 
passed  down  the  great  lakes,  were  deflected  to  the 
Mississippi." 

"  I  am  sure,  father,"  said  Mademoiselle  de  Cadil- 
lac, "  that  however  irritating  this  procedure  may 
have  been  to  you  as  Governor  of  Detroit,  you  can 
find  no  fault  with  it  now  that  you  represent  Mon- 
sieur Crozat,  and  are  desirous  of  attracting  trade  to 
this  city." 

"  True,  true,"  the  testy  old  Governor  admitted. 
"  I  did  not  think  of  that,  but  Tonty  is  very  disa- 
greeable to  me  personally.  Think  of  his  appearing 
in  the  garb  of  an  Esquimau,  instead  of  in  Court 
costume !  I  reprimanded  him  for  it,  and  he  de- 
served the  reprimand." 

"Perhaps,  father,  Monsieur  Tonty  had  no  court 
costume." 

"Then  he  should  have  ordered  one  from  his 
tailor  for  the  occasion.  Why,  you  said  yourself, 
my  dear,  that  Monsieur  Tonty  had  been  strangely 
overpraised  to  you,  and  that  you  could  not  see 
what  qualities  he  possessed  to  merit  such  high  opin- 
ions. You  were  disappointed  too,  that  Bienville 
did  not  meet  us." 

"  I  am  sure  I  never  iaid  so,"  Mademoiselle  de 


190  MARGARITA. 

Cadillac  exclaimed  hastily,  though  the  tell-tale  color 
flamed  in  her  cheeks.  "Monsieur  de  Bienville  is 
doubtless  very  much  occupied  with  his  dear  In- 
dians." 

"  MiOe  tonneres!"  roared  Monsieur  Cadillac, 
"  his  occupation  should  be  to  wait  upon  me.  What 
else  is  there  of  so  much  important 

"Nothing,  Monsieur,"  I  protested,  "but  your 
safety  is  even  more  necessary  than  your  entertain- 
ment, and  Bienville  wished  me  to  explain  to  you 
that  only  a  very  critical  situation  in  Indian  affairs 
could  have  caused  the  seeming  disrespect  of  his  ab- 
sence from  the  city  on  your  arrival  He  charged 
me  also  with  the  management  of  the  very  ffttes  in 
your  honor,  whose  absence  you  have  remarked,  and 
hopes  to  be  present  when  they  occur.  The  infor- 
mation that  a  veteran  so  renowned  in  Canada  as 
yourself  has  been  appointed  to  this  post  will,  he 
thinks,  conduce  to  the  pacifying  the  Natchez,  \\  ln» 
have  been  uneasy  for  some  time  past.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  chief,  Great  Sun,  may  attend  the 
fates  which  Bienville  has  planned  in  your  honor. 
The  sister  of  the  chief  is  to  be  married  to  one  of 
Tonty's  coureura  de  lois,  and  Bienville  hoped  that 
Mademoiselle  Cadillac  would  be  so  good  as  to  take 
the  dusky  bride  under  her  kind  protection,  and  give 
me  some  advice  as  to  the  festivities." 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  FEE.  191 

I  was  rewarded  for  my  falsehoods  by  the  look  of 
pleasure  that  irradiated  Mademoiselle  de  Cadil- 
lac's expressive  features.  "  There,  father,"  she  ex- 
claimed, "  I  told  you  that  something  very  important 
must  have  detained  Monsieur  de  Bienville.  I  knew 
that  his  friendship  could  not  have  changed.  How 
very  thoughtful  of  him  to  send  so  polite  a  message. 
He  vacated  his  own  house  for  our  occupancy,  and 
though  the  chevalier  Tonty  is  not  at  all  what  I 
expected  from  his  extravagant  praise,  I  do  not 
think  Monsieur  de  Bienville  really  meant  to  deceive. 
Doubtless  Tonty  is  very  brave,  and  it  is  not  the 
poor  man's  fault  that  he  is  so  unfortunately  plain, 
and  so  very  gaucJie.  He  gave  me  his  left  hand  to 
assist  me  from  the  gangplank,  and  he  stared  at  me 
like  a  hungry  wolverine  without  uttering  a  single 
word." 

"You  forget,  Mademoiselle,  that  Tonty's  right 
hand  is  of  iron.  It  could  deal  a  crushing  blow  in 
your  behalf,  but  his  left  alone  could  thrill  under 
your  touch." 

She  shook  her  head  gaily  and  would  listen  to  no 
word  in  his  praise. 

The  Governor,  instead  of  emulating  Bienville's 
generous  reception  of  Senor  de  la  Riola,  awarded 
scant  courtesy  to  Don  Raimon  di  Villesco,  and  I  was 
forced  to  maintain  him  at  my  own  charge  at  the 


192  MARGARITA. 

public  inn,  which  was  none  of  the  best.  Fortu- 
nately, as  he  came  in  a  private  capacity,  he  had  not 
expected  any  other  treatment,  and  was  perfectly 
satisfied.  He  very  gladly  consented  to  remain  to 
Weenonah's  marriage,  and  was  much  amused  by  the 
story,  seeing  none  of  the  personal  considerations  in 
it  which  had  unfortunately  kept  me  from  making  a 
clean  breast  of  the  affair  to  Margarita. 

It  was  now  my  duty  to  provide  the  requisites  for 
the  wedding,  and  first  of  all  the  important  detail  of 
a  bridegroom. 

I  was  glad  to  learn  that  Tonty,  who  had  re- 
mained some  time  in  Mobile,  after  going  there 
to  welcome  the  Cadillacs,  had  returned  to  > 
Orleans,  and  though  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for 
the  Illinois,  was  waiting,  for  some  unknown  reason, 
encamped  with  his  coureurs  de  bait  on  the  borders 
of  a  bayou  to  the  north  of  the  city.  Following  one 
of  his  men  who  had  come  to  town  for  provisions,  I 
soon  ascertained  the  reason  of  his  delay.  The  great 
warrior,  over  whom  it  had  hitherto  seemed  clcith 
had  no  power,  was  dangerously  ill.  One  of  tin- 
ships  which  had  recently  arrived  from  France  had 
stopped  at  Havana,  and  had  brought  with  it  the 
usual  deadly  freight  of  yellow  fever.  Among  the 
most  welcome  of  the  ship's  passengers  were  a 
number  of  "jittes  d  cassettes"  young  girls  sent  out 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  FEE.  193 

by  the  King  with  a  small  dowry  to  become  the 
wives  of  the  colonists. 

Tonty  had  waited  for  the  arrival  of  the  ship, 
doubtless  intending  to  bring  about  marriages  for 
some  of  his  men,  but  the  poor  girls  had  contracted 
the  fever,  some  had  died,  others  were  dying,  all  were 
infected.  None  the  less  Tonty  arranged  for  their 
transportation  to  the  hospital  in  the  care  of  the 
Ursulline  nuns,  and  here  constituted  himself  their 
guardian  and  care-taker,  well  knowing  that  he  ex- 
posed himself  to  the  terrible  disease.  He  had  set 
out  on  his  return  journey  to  his  Rock,  but  had  been 
prostrated  by  the  fever  before  reaching  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Recognizing  his  own  symptoms,  he  had 
sent  the  greater  part  of  his  men  up  the  river  and 
had  remained  in  camp  in  this  secluded  place,  with 
only  a  half  dozen  of  his  most  devoted  followers. 

They  told  me  that  he  had  been  hopeless  as  to  his 
own  recovery  from  the  first,  his  only  anxiety  to 
keep  himself  quarantined  from  the  rest,  giving 
orders  that  only  a  half-breed  immune  should  nurse 
him,  and  that  the  cook  and  the  four  hunters  should 
keep  themselves  at  a  distance  from  his  tent. 

I  disregarded  these  commands  and  went  directly 
to  him,  resolved  to  remain  at  that  post  until  the 
crisis  was  past.  The  faithful  Jallot  as  my  interme- 
diary with  the  outer  world  camped  with  the  cour- 


194  MARGARITA. 

eura  de  loi*,  approaching  only  near  enough  for  me 
to  call  out  my  wishes.  My  first  command  was  that 
he  should  write  a  letter  which  one  of  the  men 
should  take  to  Bienville,  then  that  he  should  ex- 
plain my  absence  to  Don  Itaimon,  and  to  Madem- 
oiselle de  Cadillac. 

Fortunately  I  had  just  despatched  a  letter  to 
Margarita,  and  I  determined  not  to  worry  her  by 
informing  her  of  the  present  exigency  until  all 
danger  of  contagion  should  be  past.  I  supposed 
that  my  letter  to  Bienville  would  reach  him  in  time 
to  prevent  Weenonah  from  setting  out  for  New 
Orleans,  and  so  I  made  no  preparation  for  her  re- 
ception, but  bent  to  my  task  as  nurse. 

There  was  little  that  I  could  do,  for  Tonty  was 
already  delirious,  though  not  violently  so.  Jallot 
brought  Jesuit  powder,  which  ho  administered  to 
the  entire  camp  as  a  preventative.  I  took  doses 
that  set  my  ears  humming,  for  I  had  no  desire  to 
make  my  sweet  Margarita  a  widow.  There  was 
plenty  of  brandy  in  the  camp,  and  I  gave  Tonty 
sips  of  it  mixed  with  water,  and  for  food  only 
gruel;  but  the  place  was  moist  and  hot,  we  had  no 
ice,  and  the  water  which  I  gave  him  to  drink,  ;m<i 
with  which  I  bathed  his  face,  was  tepid.  II.- 
babbled  of  the  breezes  about  his  Rock,  and  begged 
for  snow  from  Canada  to  cool  his  forehead. 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  PER.  195 

He  talked  most  of  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac,  and 
the  tears  came  to  my  eyes  as  I  realized  that  all 
that  Bienville  had  said  was  true,  that  he  had  loved 
her  at  first  sight,  nay,  long  before,  from  hearsay. 

I  almost  hated  her  for  her  pretense  of  interest  in 
him,  a  pretense  assumed  to  screen  her  admiration 
for  Bienville,  and  hiding  it  all  too  successfully  from 
Bienville  himself,  who  most  unselfishly  had  assured 
Tonty  that  Mademoiselle  had  made  him  the  hero  of 
her  imagination.  Perhaps  it  was  best  that  death 
should  come  to  him  before  the  illusion  passed,  for 
in  spite  of  her  coldness  at  their  meeting,  Tonty  had 
not  understood.  He  raved  of  her  constantly,  and 
sometimes  as  he  looked  at  me  with  unseeing  eyes, 
fancied  that  I  was  she.  At  such  times  the  names 
that  he  called  me  rivalled  for  sweetness  those  which 
Margarita  bestowed  upon  me  as  we  watched  the 
miracle  of  the  opening  of  the  night-blooming  cereus. 

I  kept  my  vigil  for  two  days  and  nights.  In 
spite  of  my  remonstrances  Don  Rairaon  came  and 
camped  at  a  little  distance,  and  Mademoiselle  de 
Cadillac  sent  every  luxury  for  the  sick  which  it  was 
in  her  power  to  give. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  I  heard  Jallot's 
voice  in  loud  and  still  louder  remonstrance,  striving 
in  vain  to  hinder  the  coming  of  some  one  who  would 
not  be  denied.  My  first  thought,  in  spite  of  the 


196  MARGMilTA. 

impossibility  of  his  reaching  me  in  so  short  a  time, 
was  that  it  was  Bienville.  Then  the  flap  of  the 
tent  was  lifted,  and  Weenonah  stood  before  me. 
Her  brother,  The  Great  Sun,  was  behind  her,  and 
other  Indians  were  drawing  up  their  canoes  upon 
the  bank.  My  messenger  to  Bienville  had  passed 
them  on  their  way  down  and  had  informed  them  of 
Tonty's  illness.  They  had  come  to  him  without  the 
slightest  hesitation,  though  they  knew  the  danger, 
for  Weenonah,  who  had  not  seen  Bienville  when  he 
visited  them,  had  misunderstood  his  message.  She 
supposed  that  the  dream  of  her  life  had  come  true, 
and  that  she  was  summoned  to  New  Orleans  to  be- 
come the  wife,  not  of  one  of  Tonty's  men,  but  of 
Tonty  himself. 

There  was  more  misunderstanding  which  was  to 
affect  me  later  on,  but  of  that  I  knew  not  then,  and 
when  The  Great  Sun  demanded  the  magic  opal,  I 
gave  it  to  him,  and  he  grunted  with  satisfaction, 
and  passed  it  to  the  medicine  man,  who  stood  behind 
him.  Stinging  Serpent  took  from  his  belt  a  small 
pouch  and  from  the  pouch  a  twin  gem.  Their 
roughened  edges  fitted  exactly,  making  one  superb 
and  perfectly  shaped  heart.  All  of  the  Indians 
knelt  when  they  beheld  this  wonder,  and  the  medi- 
cine man  placed  one  of  the  fragments  within 
Weenonah's  lips  and  the  other  between  Tonty's. 


TONTY  MAIN  DE  FEB.  197 

Then  Weenonah  knelt  beside  the  pallet  until  the 
jewels  touched.  Stinging  Serpent  then  took  both 
the  gems,  and  Weenonah  sank  at  Tonty's  feet  with 
a  low,  moaning  cry,  the  most  piteous  sound  that 
ever  I  heard.  So  she  lay  and  moaned  all  that  day, 
refusing  food  or  drink,  and  never  changing  her 
position  until  that  doleful,  sobbing  wail  broke  in 
upon  Tonty's  consciousness,  and  he  knew  that  a 
woman  was  sorrowing  for  him.  A  smile  parted  his 
parched  lips,  for  he  thought  it  was  Mademoiselle  de 
Cadillac,  and  he  called  aloud,  "  Oh !  my  Princess, 
you  have  come." 

His  heart  was  in  the  cry  and  Weenonah  sprang 
from  her  abject  position  at  his  feet,  and  waving 
me  aside,  took  my  place  in  authority,  and  held  it 
while  he  lived.  She  wore  the  tunic  made  from  the 
piece  of  brocade  that  I  had  given  Margarita.  I 
doubt  whether  Tonty  recognized  it  as  a  French 
fabric,  for  he  was  past  seeing,  but  once,  as  she  bent 
over  him,  the  flowered  brocade  brushed  his  cheek 
and  he  kissed  its  hem. 

Then  came  the  stage  which  they  call  coma,  but 
which  seemed  to  us  who  watched  a  perfect  content, 
passing  imperceptibly  into  the  great  peace. 


CHAPTER  XI 

TANGLED    THREADS. 

Onward  ever  and  outward  ever,  over  the  uttermost  verge  of  the 

earth, 
With  ever  before  us  the  perilous  vista,  behind  us  the  laughter  and 

light  of  the  hearth. 
With  the  wind  of  the  wilderness  freah  in  our  faces,  the  rain  in  our 

hair  like  a  ohaplet  of  light, 
Aa  the  silent  low  light  of  the  dawn,  like  a  dewfall,  is  sifted  and 

shed  through  the  raiment  of  night. 


FTER  that  the  In- 
dians took  pones- 
sion  of  Tonty's  body, 
for  when  his  follow- 
ers understood  that 
The  Great  Sun 
wished  to  give 
Tonty  burial  honors 
worthy  of  a  chief, 
they  ceased  their  use- 
less remonstrances. 

We  wrapped  him 
in  his  blankets,  and  he  was  laid  in  state  in  a  canoe 
which  was  towed  behind  the  barge  of  The  Great 

196 


TANGLED  THEE  ADS.  199 

Sun,  Weenonah  sitting  in  the  stern  with  her  eyes 
fixed  upon  her  dead  bridegroom. 

The  other  Indians  and  Tonty's  coureurs  de  lots 
followed  in  their  canoes.  I  bade  farewell  to  Don 
Raimon,  and  telling  Jallot  to  report  to  Governor 
Cadillac,  to  obtain  the  supplies  I  needed,  and  to 
meet  me  with  my  other  men  at  Fort  Kosalie,  I 
joined  the  strange  funeral  procession. 

We  met  Bienville  when  we  had  paddled  half  the 
distance  to  the  Natchez  country,  and  he  turned 
about  joining  the  sorrowful  cortege,  for  Tonty  had 
no  sincerer  mourner  than  he.  Fortunately,  a  mis- 
sionary father  was  with  him,  and  after  the  Indians 
had  performed  their  heathenish  rites  he  was 
allowed  to  have  his  say,  the  simple  creatures  not 
knowing  that  he  exorcised  their  spirits,  and  gave 
Tonty  Christian  burial,  scattering  dust  upon  his 
breast  before  they  placed  him  high  on  the  lonely 
platform,  that  overlooked  like  a  watch-tower  the 
Great  Eiver. 

There  we  left  him,  the  Indians  placing  much 
food  by  his  side  for  the  great  journey,  which  they 
fancied  he,  whose  journeys  were  now  done,  must 
still  take.  We  escorted  Weenonah  back  to  her 
home.  She  was  now  regarded  as  a  widow,  and  the 
alliance  with  the  French  was  supposed  to  be  as 
firmly  cemented  as  though  the  living  Tonty  had 


200  MARGARITA. 

been  left  with  them  instead  of  his  unconscious  dust. 
The  opal  was  restored  to  its  place  in  the  idol's 
mouth,  where  it  would  remain  until  another  wed- 
ding was  decided  upon.  We  learned  however,  that 
Weenonah  would  not  be  compelled  to  accept  a  hus- 
band, for  it  was  her  privilege  to  remain  a  widow 
and  to  adopt  a  son,  who  would  reign  after  her 
brother's  death. 

Bienville  took  me  with  him  to  Fort  Rosalie, 
where  he  entertained  me  until  the  arrival  of  my 
boats.  I  tried  to  assure  him  of  the  love,  or  at  least 
of  the  interest  of  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac,  but  he 
would  not  believe  that  such  blessedness  was  in 
store  for  him.  He  insisted  on  thinking  of  her  as 
crushed  with  grief  by  the  death  of  Tonty,  and 
vowed  that  he  could  not  be  guilty  of  such  brutality 
as  to  press  his  own  suit  when  she  was  in  such 
sorrow. 

"  At  least,"  I  urged,  "  you  can  go  to  her  and 
offer  her  your  sympathy,  for  if  what  you  think  is 
true,  she  was  never  in  greater  need  of  a  friend." 

He  agreed  to  this,  and  I  believed  that  when  once 
they  met,  all  barriers  of  misunderstanding  would 
be  broken  down. 

"  I  verily  believe,  St.  Denis,"  he  said,  "  that  you 
have  a  balloon  in  your  breast  instead  of  a  heart, 
while  I  have  a  lump  of  lead." 


TANGLED  THREADS.  201 

"  Then  we  should  always  be  together,"  I  replied, 
"and  mine  should  buoy  yours  up.  I  refuse  to 
allow  yours  to  drag  mine  to  the  bottom,  though  it 
might  ballast  it  to  advantage." 

So  I  jested,  little  guessing  the  misery  that  I  was 
so  joyously  hastening  to  meet. 

It  was  autumn,  and  already  the  nights  were  cold 
and  the  mornings  raw.  Winter  would  soon  be 
upon  us,  but  I  pictured  how  cozily  we  would  spend 
it  together  in  our  snug  chateau,  the  great  logs  of 
the  stockade  keeping  out  all  savage  foes,  and 
greater  ones  still  giving  out  a  cheery  crackling  and 
genial  warmth  in  "the  laughter  and  light  of  the 
hearth." 

I  had  purchased  at  New  Orleans  and  had  bidden 
Jallot  bring  with  my  supplies,  books,  and  music 
from  Paris,  and  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  had  sent, 
as  a  present  for  Margarita,  her  tambour  table  with 
tapestry  yarns  and  patterns,  to  amuse  her  while  I 
read  aloud  in  the  long  winter  evenings.  My  heart 
was  bursting  with  longing  for  my  beloved,  but 
many  a  weary  day  was  to  intervene  before  we  were 
to  see  one  another  again.  With  all  my  precautions 
the  deadly  yellow  fever  had  its  grip  upon  me.  I 
was  shivering  and  burning  by  turns,  and  my  head 
was  splitting  with  pain.  On  the  morning  that 
Jallot  and  my  other  men  arrived  with  the  boats  I 


202  MARGAniTA. 

attempted  to  rise  but  the  room  swam  and  I  knew 
no  more. 

Bienville  sent  Captain  Tissenet  on  to  Natchi- 
tocbes  with  my  train  in  my  stead,  and  by  dint  of 
Jallot's  careful  nursing  I  was  dragged  back  to  life, 
but  weak  as  a  child.  I  hardly  knew  myself. 

u  You  are  not  fit  to  make  that  hazardous  and  ex- 
hausting trip  up  the  Red  Kivrr,"  said  Bienville, 
"besides  your  wife  will  soon  be  here.  I  myself 
wrote  to  her  to  come  to  you,  and  you  must  both 
winter  at  New  Orleans." 

So  I  waited  other  days  but  still  she  came  not,  and 
unfit  as  I  was  I  could  bear  the  suspense  no  longer 
and  started  with  Jallot. 

Just  as  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Red  River 
we  saw  a  canoe  rapidly  approaching.  Some  one 
rose  and  signaled.  It  was  Picard,  and  I  shouted 
to  him  gaily  as  be  drew  near,  "I've  the  latest 
dances  for  your  fiddl<>." 

He  threw  up  his  arm  with  a  gesture  of  desp 
"  I  doubt  we  shall  ever  dance  again,'9  he  said  as  his 
boat  came  alongside. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  I  cried.  "Is  anything 
the  matter  with  my  wife  ?  " 

"  Gone,"  he  groaned. 

"  Not  taken  by  the  Indians,"  I  shrieked.  "  Then 
why  are  you  alive  ?  " 


TANGLED  THREADS.  203 

"  No,  thank  God,"  he  replied,  "  she  is  safe  from 
personal  harm.  It  was  her  will  to  go,  and  you  told 
us  to  obey  her  bidding,  else  would  we  have  locked 
her  in  her  chamber,  and  have  defied  those  Spanish 
soldiers  to  kill  us  all  ere  they  should  have  carried 
her  back  to  her  home." 

"Gone  of  her  own  will  back  to  Presidio  del 
Norte!  But  she  loved  me,  Picard.  What  has 
poisoned  her  mind  against  me  ?  " 

"  That  cursed  friar." 

"What,  has  Fra  Luis  been  at  Natchitoches ? " 

"  He  arrived  soon  after  you  left,  but  he  could 
have  effected  nothing  alone,  for  she  would  not  be- 
lieve his  slanders  until  Weenonah  came  and  con- 
firmed them  ail." 

"  Weenonah !  But  I  have  only  just  left  her  in  the 
Natchez  country,  and  she  has  been  with  me  in  New 
Orleans." 

"  More's  the  pity.  Did  not  the  jade  tell  you  that 
she  came  to  us  first,  seeking  you  ?  It  is  a  sorry 
business  all  around.  Would  to  heaven,  my  master, 
that  I  could  have  told  your  lady  you  had  never  set 
eyes  on  that  Indian  witch,  for  she  has  cheated  you 
out  of  the  truest  wife  man  ever  had." 

"Sit  by  my  side,  man,"  I  said,  "and  tell  me  the 
whole  story  just  as  it  happened.  It  shall  not  be 
too  late.  I  must  follow  and  bring  her  back." 


204  MARGARITA. 

"  If  you  do  you  will  follow  to  your  death,  for 
there  are  orders  left  with  the  captains  of  all  the 
presidios  to  arrest  you  and  send  you  under  guard 
to  the  City  of  Mexico.  The  soldiers  told  me  that 
when  they  first  arrived,  and  Fra  Luis  was  disap- 
pointed enough  not  to  find  you,  though  he  said  it 
was  just  as  well  that  you  should  be  arrested  by 
your  own  military  commander,  for  you  were  a 
double  traitor,  both  to  France  and  Spain.  Ho 
showed  all  the  garrison  a  captain's  commission  in 
the  Spanish  army,  made  out  for  you  and  bade  us 
not  to  trust  you,  for  you  bad  promised  in  return 
for  that  bribe  to  betray  our  garrison  into  the  hands 
of  the  Spaniards.  But  the  Duke  of  Linares  had 
received  a  letter  from  Don  Andreas  de  la  Kiola  of 
Pensacola,  telling  him  not  to  trust  you  for  he  had 
learned  in  his  late  visit  to  the  French  that  you  were 
a  man  without  honour,  and  the  Duke  had  sent  him 
with  orders  for  your  arrest." 

"  It  is  all  a  lie !  "  I  cried,  "  a  damnable  lie  I " 
"  So  we  knew,"  said  Picard,  "  and  your  lady  told 
him  proudly  that  Fort  Natchitoches  would  never 
be  surrendered  to  Spain  either  through  treachery 
or  by  force,  for  if  what  he  said  were  true,  and  you 
proved  coward  or  traitor,  no  one  should  ever  know 
it,  for  she  would  have  you  tied  in  your  bed  and 
giving  out  that  you  were  ill  or  insane,  would  com- 


TANGLED  THREADS.  205   " 

mand  the  fortress  herself,  so  saving  you  from  dis- 
honor." 

"  Good  ! "  I  cried,  "  but  what  broke  her  spirit  ? 
And  what  was  that  you  said  of  Weenonah  ?  " 

"  Fra  Luis  told  her  that  you  were  not  only  a 
traitor  to  your  country,  but  to  her  as  well.  He 
called  us  all  to  witness  that  you  had  been  married 
after  the  Indian  fashion  to  the  Princess  of  the 
Natchez,  and  that  this  marriage  was  to  be  publicly 
acknowledged  when  you  presented  them  with  an  opal 
esteemed  by  their  customs  the  proof  that  the  holder 
was  chosen  by  their  god.  He  told  a  long  story  of 
how  you  knew  that  he  possessed  this  gem,  and  had 
followed  him  to  Mexico  and  had  stolen  it  from  him. 

"  Madame  de  St.  Denis  began  to  weaken  from  the 
moment  that  he  mentioned  that  devil's  gem.  '  No, 
I'll  not  believe  it  of  him,'  her  tongue  kept  saying, 
but  her  face  showed  that  she  did  believe  it.  '  If  he 
wanted  the  opal,'  she  said,  'it  was  in  order  to 
obtain  influence  over  the  Indians,  as  you  yourself 
ruled  them,  Fra  Luis,  but  all  this  story  of  an  Indian 
wife  is  a  lie.  I'll  not  believe  it.'  And  then  by 
the  working  of  the  Evil  One,  some  one  brought  in 
Weenonah.  She  had  come  in  state  with  five  canoes 
of  warriors,  and  her  brother  The  Great  Sun.  Bien- 
ville  had  told  them  that  she  was  to  be  married  in 
New  Orleans,  for  you  had  found  the  sacred  talis- 


206  MARGARITA. 

man.  They  had  not  understood  that  you  had  gone 
down  before  them  to  New  Orleans,  but  supposed 
that  they  would  find  you  at  Natchitoches,  and  now 
they  clamored  for  you  and  for  the  opal.  'Why 
do  you  wish  it  ? '  Madame  de  St.  Denis  asked,  and 
Weenonah  answered,  'That  I  may  be  married. 
Monsieur  de  St.  Denis  promised  to  get  it  and 
marry  me.' 

"  Your  lady  stared  at  her  as  though  she  could  not 
understand.  '  What  proof  have  you  ? '  she  asked ; 
'show  me  anything  that  he  has  given  you,9  and 
Weenonah  laid  her  hand  on  the  little  silken  tunic, 
which  she  had  on,  and  Madame  cried  out  as  though 
she  had  been  struck,  and  running  to  the  chest, 
dragged  out  her  wedding-dress,  and  compared  them. 
They  were  of  the  same  piece. 

"We  hurried  Weenonah  from  her  presence,  and 
the  Indians  went  away  to  find  you  at  New  Orleans. 
We  dul  our  best  to  keep  Madame,  but  we  could  not 
explain  away  what  bad  happened,  indeed  until 
Captain  Tissenet  and  the  men  you  had  taken  with 
you  came  with  the  boats  and  told  us  of  Tonty's 
marriage  and  death,  we  were  ourselves  in  great 
doubt  what  to  think,  knowing  that  you  had  been 
betrothed  to  Weenonah.  So  when  your  lady  asked 
us  if  we  knew  aught  of  this,  there  was  not  a  man 
could  answer  her." 


TANGLED  THREADS.  207 

"  Picard,  Picard,"  I  groaned,  "  could  you  believe 
me  such  a  scoundrel  ?  " 

"  Nay,  dear  master,  but  I  could  not  prove  you 
honest,  and  so  she  went  away  with  Fra  Luis  and 
the  Spaniards." 

"  You  will  go  with  me,"  I  cried,  "  to  bring  her 
back." 

"  In  the  spring,  dear  master.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  cross  that  waste  country  in  winter,  and 
you  could  not  go  by  the  new  missions  as  you  came 
from  del  Norte,  for  at  each  post  there  is  an  order 
for  your  arrest." 

"  I  care  not ;  I  will  go  alone,  if  none  of  you  will 
follow,"  I  said.  But  I  overestimated  ray  strength, 
and  that  night  the  chill  and  the  fever  came  upon  me 
again.  It  was  a  relapse,  and  they  took  me  to  New 
Orleans,  where  I  spent  the  long  winter  in  lethargy 
and  tedious  convalescence.  I  wrote  to  Margarita 
again  and  again  impassioned  letters,  justifying  my- 
self, pleading  with  her,  entreating  her  to  believe 
me,  and  I  sent  the  letters  by  our  trading  schooner 
to  Pensacola,  thence  to  be  forwarded  by  sea  to 
Mexico.  It  was  the  route  by  which  Don  Raimon 
di  Villesco  had  returned  to  Presidio  del  Norte  ;  but 
he  had  already  gone.  I  received  no  answer  and 
knew  not  whether  my  letters  reached  their  destina- 
tion. I  tried  to  comfort  my  heart  with  the  knowl- 


208  MARGARITA. 

edge  that  when  Don  Raimon  arrived  he  would  tell 
Margarita  how  grievously  she  had  been  deceived, 
and  that  Weenonah  had  been  wedded  to  Tonty. 
But  he  did  not  know  of  my  illness,  and  they  must 
wonder  why  I  did  not  fly  to  her.  So  I  retarded 
my  recovery  by  my  very  impatience,  wearing  my- 
self out  with  useless  worry  and  repining. 

One  consolation  I  had  in  the  friendship  of  Mad- 
emoiselle de  Cadillac.  I  was  the  guest  of  the 
Governor,  and  had  the  best  room  in  the  simple 
mansion,  and  I  told  her  all  my  trouble,  as  I  had 
previously  confided  to  her  my  joy.  She  was  very 
sympathetic,  but  she  did  not  in  turn  make  me  her 
confidant.  With  all  our  intimacy,  she  was  too 
reserved  for  that.  I  was  certain,  however,  that 
Bienville  had  made  a  great  mistake,  and  that  she 
had  never  cared  for  Tonty  or  she  could  not  have 
borne  his  death  as  she  did.  I  had  thought  her  in- 
difference on  meeting  him  assumed,  that  she  had 
really  come  to  Louisiana  attracted  by  what  Bien- 
ville had  told  her  of  his  hero,  but  I  saw  now  that 
she  had  never  given  sufficient  attention  to  his 
praises  to  be  interested  in  Tonty's  person- 
ality. 

If  Bienville  were  only  more  self-confident,  per- 
haps he  might  have  a  chance  after  all.  But 
though  he  occasionally  came  to  New  Orleans  to  see 


TANGLED  THREADS.  209 

me  and  made  visits  of  ceremony  on  the  Governor, 
he  would  not  woo  her  like  a  man. 

Governor  Cadillac  and  Bienville  could  not  abide 
each  other.  Cadillac  found  fault  with  everything 
which  Bienville  had  done  or  planned  to  do,  and  the 
younger  man  chafed  under  the  interference  and 
mismanagement  of  a  dictatorial  old  dotard  who 
neither  knew  what  ought  to  be  done,  nor  how  to 
express  his  wishes  in  a  courteous  manner. 

Mademoiselle  saw  the  prejudice  and  jealousy  of 
each  grow  to  dislike,  and,  on  her  father's  part,  to 
enmity,  without  being  able  to  make  peace  be- 
tween the  two  beings  whom  she  most  loved. 

Often  during  the  Governor's  furious  tirades 
against  Bienville,  I  have  seen  her  cheek  flush  and 
the  tears  spring  to  her  eyes.  At  first  she  would 
take  Bienville's  part  with  spirit,  but  when  she  saw 
that  this  only  added  fuel  to  the  flame  she  would 
silently  leave  the  room. 

Shortly  after  Tonty's  death,  Cadillac  went  up  the 
river  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  He  reprimanded 
Bienville  before  his  own  men,  scolded  them  roundly 
without  cause,  disdainfully  refused  to  smoke  the 
calumet  of  peace  which  The  Great  Sun  brought  in 
state,  and  even  sent  word  to  that  offended  potentate 
that  Tonty's  remains  would  be  removed.  So  he 
passed  up  the  river,  and  Bienville  had  all  that  he 


210  MARGARITA. 

could  do  to  restrain  the  Natchez  from  attacking 
him  on  his  return.  He  could  not  eradicate  all  the 
evil  consequences  of  his  mad  conduct. 

The  seeds  of  suspicion  bad  been  sown  in  the 
minds  of  the  Indians.  Their  official  tendering  of 
the  peace  pipe  had  been  rejected,  and  they  believed 
that  the  solemn  alliance  went  for  nothing,  that 
Bienville  had  no  power  or  influence,  and  that  war 
with  the  Natchez  had  been  decided  upon  by  the 
Governor.  The  Stinging  Serpent,  and  another 
warrior,  called  the  Bearded,  who  had  always  been 
unfriendly  to  the  French,  began  to  make  warlike 
speeches,  and  to  stir  up  the  more  peaceably  inclined 
Indians. 

The  young  French  officers  were  in  almost  as 
dangerous  a  state  of  revolt.  Cadillac  assured  them 
that  if  he  had  the  power  he  would  send  every  one 
of  them  to  the  guard-house  for  negligence  of  their 
arms,  and  for  appearing  before  him  in  ragged  uni- 
forms. He  upbraided  Bienville  for  lack  of  dis- 
cipline, and  for  allowing  them  to  range  the  woods 
during  the  summer,  instead  of  spending  their  time 
drilling  on  the  parade.  And  this  when  he  knew 
that  no  uniforms  or  salaries  had  been  issued  to 
them  for  three  years,  and  that  but  for  their  own 
hunting  and  the  entertainment  which  they  received 
from  the  Indians  they  would  have  starved.  They 


TANGLED  THREADS.  211 

had  patched  their  old  clothes,  waiting  patiently  for 
better  times,  hoping  too  that  these  times  might  be 
ushered  in  by  a  little  good  fighting,  or  at  least 
dangerous  adventure  of  some  sort,  for  it  was  harder 
for  men  of  their  metal  to  rust  out  than  to  fight. 
Matters  came  to  a  crisis  that  season,  when  Bien- 
ville  came  to  New  Orleans  with  some  of  his  soldiers 
to  report  the  discontentment  among  the  Natchez, 
and  his  summary  execution  of  the  Bearded  chief, 
who  was  the  leader  of  the  insurrection,  and  also  to 
ask  for  supplies  for  his  men.  Cadillac  gave  his 
opinion  that  the  whole  affair  had  been  scandalously 
mismanaged,  that  in  this  instance  Bienville  had  been 
needlessly  brutal,  and  that  he  should  so  report  to 
the  home  government. 

Bienville  flushed  to  the  roots  of  his  hair,  and  with 
a  profound  salute  left  without  replying.  He  was 
dining  his  officers  that  night  at  his  own  expense  at 
the  public-house,  when  the  Governor  invited  him- 
self to  our  repast. 

We  all  rose  respectfully,  though  we  resented 
the  intrusion.  Cadillac  noticed  our  coldness,  and 
swelled  with  importance.  He  was  happy  to  see  that 
we  were  able  to  feast  so  luxuriously.  He  had  under- 
stood differently  and  had  ordered  his  commissary  to 
issue  rations,  but  now  he  should  countermand  that 
order.  The  army  was  evidently  in  no  need.  Ex- 


212  MARGARITA. 

asperated  that  no  one  replied,  he  glared  about  him 
for  some  fresh  occasion  for  fault-finding,  and 
noticing  that  all  the  officers  present  wore  their 
swords,  demanded  why  they  did  so. 

"  In  France,"  he  said,  "  only  men  of  title  are  per- 
mitted to  carry  rapiers.  How  many  of  you  gen- 
tlemen are  gens  (Tepee,  hereditary  nobles  ?  " 

"  But  we  had  no  such  custom  in  Canada,"  Bien- 
ville  protested. 

"  Canada !  I  trust  I  have  done  with  Canada  at 
last,"  snorted  Monsieur  de  Cadillac;  " barbarous 
country  and  still  more  barbarous  people.  I  tell 
you  that  Canada  shall  not  set  the  pace  for  Louisi- 
ana. Here  things  shall  be  done  as  in  France.  Am 
I  governor  of  this  country  or  am  I  not?  Every 
one  of  you  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  nobility 
may  surrender  his  sword  at  once." 

Bienville  instantly  unbuckled  his  sword  belt  and 
laid  the  weapon  on  the  table,  and  every  officer  fol- 
lowed his  example  without  a  word. 

By  no  means  mollified,  Cadillac  demanded  of  me, 
"  Why  do  you  lay  down  your  sword,  Monsieur  de 
St.  Denis,  and  you  de  Boisbriant,  and  d'Artaguette, 
since  you  have  each  an  unchallengable  right  to  wear 
them?" 

"  For  two  reasons,  sir,"  I  replied,  struggling  with 
all  my  might  to  speak  calmly.  "  First,  because  I 


TANGLED  THREADS.  213 

have  done  with  France  and  we  have  no  titles  here, 
and " 

"  And,  second  ?  The  real  reason "  Cadillac 

sneered.  "  Out  with  it." 

"  Since  you  will  have  it,  sir,  the  real  reason  is  be- 
cause there  is  not  one  of  us,  no  matter  what  is 
right,  who  would  wear  a  mark  of  distinction  denied 
to  our  commander." 

Major  de  Boisbriant  and  Captain  d'Artaguette 
applauded  my  speech,  and  de  Boisbriant  added : 

"Wo  wear  our  swords  sir,  not  as  trumpery 
badges,  but  as  tools  for  carving ;  and  since  you  de- 
prive these  brave  gentlemen  of  their  weapons,  you 
may  do  your  own  fighting." 

The  Governor  was  furious.  "  I  arrest  you,"  he 
cried.  "  I  arrest  you  all  for  contempt,"  and  calling 
in  the  watch  he  ordered  Bienville  and  his  entire 
staff  to  the  jail.  "  Fall  in,  gentlemen,"  said  d'Ar- 
taguette, "as  well  one  barracks  as  another.  At 
least  I  take  it  we  shall  have  our  rations." 

They  all  marched  away,  giving  the  absurd  spec- 
tacle of  one  constable  leading  a  squad  of  officers  to 
prison.  I  had  placed  myself  by  Bienville's  side,  but 
Cadillac,  feeling  that  he  had  gone  too  far,  called  to 
me,  "  You  are  not  under  arrest,  St.  Denis.  I  know 
you  to  be  a  gentleman  at  heart,  though  a  bit 
hasty." 


214  MARGARITA, 

"Stay,"  whispered  Bienville.  "You  will  bo 
needed.  It  will  never  do  to  leave  that  madman 
with  full  power  in  his  hands.  You  have  some  in- 
fluence over  him,  and  the  Indian  situation  is  a 
critical  one." 

I  pressed  his  arm  and  came  back  to  Cadillac 
whose  face  was  purple  with  rage.  I  feared  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy,  and  made  him  sit  down  whih  I 
opened  the  window.  He  was  able  presently  to 
take  my  arm  and  walk  home,  puffing  with  indigna- 
tion all  the  way. 

Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  met  him  as  he  entered 
his  door.  She  half  rose  from  the  tambour-frame 
which  she  had  sent  to  Margarita,  and  which  I  had 
brought  back  to  the  donor. 

"  I  was  trying  to  straighten  the  tangled  threads," 
she  said,  and  then,  as  neither  of  us  replied,  she 
looked  from  one  to  the  other  and  asked  anxiously : 
"What  has  happened?  lias  anything  gone 
wrong?" 

"  Tangles  beyond  your  power  of  straightening,  I 
fear,"  I  replied  ;  and  her  father  blurted  out : 

"  You  may  as  well  know  it  first  as  last.  I  have 
arrested  that  impudent  puppy,  Bienville." 

"Bienvitte!  Arrested!"  she  repeated  incredu- 
lously, as  though  she  could  not  have  heard  aright. 
"  Ton  arrested  Bienville  ?  " 


TANGLED  THREADS.  215 

"  Yes,  /  arrested  Bienville,"  he  replied,  mock- 
ingly, much  irritated  by  her  manner.  "  And  he 
deserved  it  well,  the  low-born,  conceited  donkey ! " 

She  overturned  the  embroidery  table  with  one 
impetuous  movement,  and  faced  him  magnificently 
with  a  torrent  of  indignant  questions. 

"  What  had  he  done  ?  What  right  had  you  to 
arrest  him  no  matter  what  he  did  ?  Are  you  the 
head  of  the  army  or  he  ?  Did  the  King  give  you 
any  warrant  for  interfering  with  him  ?  Has  he  not 
done  enough  interposing  himself  between  those 
savages  and  us  ?  Have  you  not  made  mistakes 
enough  without  this  crowning  proof  of  your  utter 
incapacity  ?  There  is  nothing  left  now  but  for  you 
to  resign,  before  the  King  hears  of  this  business  and 
recalls  you  in  disgrace." 

"  I  shall  not  resign,"  grumbled  Cadillac,  cowed 
in  spite  of  himself  by  her  vehemence.  "  I  shall  not 
resign,  and  I  shall  not  be  brow-beaten  by  my  own 
daughter.  Who  is  there  that  will  report  this  affair 
to  the  King,  since  I  have  the  supervision  of  the 
mails  ?  Pontchartrain  shall  have  my  version  of  the 
matter,  and  we  will  see  who  will  have  to  resign.  I 
am  astonished  at  you  rating  your  own  father  in  the 
presence  of  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis.  One  would 
think  you  a  fish-wife  instead  of  a  lady  of  quality." 

"That  is  true,"  she  said,  bowing  her  head  in 


216  MARGARITA. 

humiliation.  "  Forgive  me,  Father.  Oh  I  tho  shame 
of  this  scene !  Forget  it,  Monsieur." 

"  I  will  indeed.  Mademoiselle,"  I  promised,  "and 
so  will  Monsieur  de  Bienville." 

"  But  so  will  not  Governor  Cadillac,"  ejaculated 
Monsieur,  resuming  his  importance  the  instant  that 
he  saw  his  daughter  abase  herself.  "  I  tell  you  I 
will  be  master  in  this  colony,  as  well  as  in  my  own 
house." 

He  was  striding  pompously  from  the  room  when 
he  was  met  by  Pennicault,  my  secretary. 

"  Pardon,  your  excellency,"  he  said,  bowing  low 
to  the  Governor,  "  but  I  have  important  news  for 
Monsieur  de  St.  Denis.  We  should  be  off  at  once 
for  the  Natchitoches  country.  The  Indians  along 
the  river  are  very  uneasy,  and  it  will  be  well  to 
take  advantage  of  the  momentary  check  which 
Monsieur  de  Bienville  has  put  upon  them,  by  so 
promptly  chastising  the  Bearded,  for  stopping  the 
batteau  of  Illinois  voyageurs  and  murdering  the 
Frenchmen  who  were  bringing  down  their  peltries. 
If  they  find  out  that  his  iron  rule  is  for  an  in- 
stant relaxed,  the  river  will  not  be  a  safe  highroad 
for  us  or  any  Frenchman." 

"  The  Choctaws  are  friendly,"  said  the  Governor, 
attempting  to  disguise  his  uneasiness.  Finding 
that  he  would  listen  to  reason  I  explained  the  situ* 


TANGLED  THREADS.  217 

ation,  how  the  Choctaws  took  their  cue  from  the 
Natchez,  and  if  Bienville's  governance  was  not  main- 
tained there,  they  could  not  be  relied  upon,  and  the 
colony  would  find  itself  surrounded  by  a  merciless 
horde  of  enemies  instead  of  an  army  of  allies. 

The  Governor  had  listened  attentively  and  a  look 
of  fear  came  into  his  face.  "  That  rascally  medi- 
cine man,  Stinging  Serpent,  was  here  this  after- 
noon," he  said.  "  He  made  complaints  to  me  of 
Bienville's  sternness,  and  I  assured  him  that  he 
should  be  removed  from  command  at  Fort  Rosalie, 
but  I  fear  that  I  have  made  a  mistake.  Come,  Pen- 
nicault,  into  my  study,  and  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis 
remain  till  I  return,  for  I  have  more  to  say  to  you." 

I  remained,  endeavoring  to  reassure  Mademoiselle 
who  now  turned  to  me.  "  Quick,  tell  me  all,"  she 
demanded.  "  Why  did  my  father  arrest  Monsieur 
de  Bienville?  What  was  the  quarrel  between 
them?" 

I  related  the  occurrence,  and  explained  how  very 
unfortunate  it  was  that  the  rupture  should  come  at 
this  time  when  it  was  necessary  that  the  colony 
should  be  united,  and  Bienville's  vigorous  action 
supported.  The  Choctaws,  in  the  midst  of  whose 
country  New  Orleans  had  been  built,  were  friendly, 
having  resisted  all  the  overtures  of  the  Chickasaws 
with  whom  the  English  were  still  tampering.  But 


218  MARGARITA. 

the  Indians  were  very  fickle — and  the  Natchez  held 
•the  balance  of  power — and  Bienville  alone  had 
any  influence  with  them.  I  told  what  we  had  but 
just  learned,  that  The  Great  Sun,  the  friend  of  the 
French,  was  dying,  and  that  Weenonah  had  an- 
nounced that  she  adopted  Bienville  as  her  son  to 
be  her  brother's  successor,  that  if  this  act  was  rati- 
fied by  Stinging  Serpent,  the  medicine  man,  Bien- 
ville would  on  the  death  of  the  Great  Sun  be  hailed 
hereditary  chief  of  the  Natchez  without  any  obliga- 
tion of  marrying  into  their  tribe.  There  was,  how- 
ever, another  claimant,  English  Jem,  the  pirate 
Hiems,  who  had  settled  among  the  Chickasaws,  had 
renewed  his  negotiation.  The  Bearded  chief  hud 
confessed  to  Bienville  that  the  Englishman,  whose 
eyes  looked  in  two  directions,  had  proposed  for 
Weenonah's  hand  under  the  pretext  that  lu  r  mar- 
riage  with  a  dead  man,  Tonty,  was  no  true  marriage, 
and  that  Bienville  could  not  be  regarded  as  their 
son. 

Stinging  Serpent's  dictum  would  be  received  as 
that  of  the  gods ;  but  the  medicine  man  was  a 
shrewd  old  rascal,  and  he  would  deliver  the  celestial 
fiat  in  accordance  with  the  best  worldly  wisdom. 
If  Bienville  were  disgraced  he  would  indubitably 
incline  to  the  English. 

Mademoiselle,  who  bad  walked  the  floor  with  in- 


TANGLED  THREADS.  219 

creasing  agitation,  exclaimed  excitedly :  "  What  I 
said  was  true,  true.  We  must  go  back  to  France. 
We  are  ruining  his  great  work.  And  to  think  how 
I  planned  and  labored,  coaxed  and  finessed  to  come 
to  Louisiana,  thinking  that  my  father  could  help 
him,  that  I  could  console  and  encourage  him  in  this 
enterprise.  And  now  I  cannot  even  be  his  friend, 
and  he  will  think  of  me  when  I  am  gone  as  his 
curse." 

"Never!"  exclaimed  a  well-known  voice.  "I 
shall  think  of  you  henceforth  as  my  blessing  and 
my  exceeding  great  reward ! " 

We  had  been  so  preoccupied  that  we  had  not 
heard  the  outer  door  open  or  the  resolute  step  in 
the  hall.  Frightened  by  Pennicault's  report,  the 
Governor  had  sent  an  order  for  the  release  of  the 
prisoners  and  the  restitution  of  their  weapons. 
Bienville  had  come  at  once,  and  standing  on  the 
threshold,  he  had  heard  Mademoiselle's  last  words, 
and  all  the  care,  the  annoyance,  the  privation,  and 
danger  of  the  past  and  present  was  as  though  it 
were  not  in  the  revelation  of  her  love.  It  seemed  to 
him,  as  he  clasped  her  in  his  arms,  that  her  father's 
galling  interference  and  frustration  of  his  plans 
could  be  borne  for  her  sake.  All  the  difficult 
problems  of  the  future  would  solve  themselves,  and 
if  not,  anything,  even  defeat  and  failure  could  be 


220  MARGARITA. 

endured  with  her.     Life  could  bring  no  trial  now 
too  great  for  his  patience  and  tenderness. 

Sympathetic  tears  filled  ray  eyes,  and  I  stole  out 
of  the  room,  my  heart  beating  like  a  trip-hammer, 
suffocating  with  emotion — for  the  sight  of  their  joy 
had  rendered  uncontrollable  the  impatience  that 
burned  within  me,  night  and  day,  to  find  my  wife, 
my  Margarita. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


IN  WHICH  I  TAKE  A  LONGER  JOURNEY  THAN  I 
INTENDED. 

We  moat  journey  in  morning  and  midnight,  we  most  travel  in  sor- 
row and  mirth, 

Onward  ever  and  outward  even,  over  the  uttermost  verge  of  the 
earth! 

— George  Cabot  Lodge. 

N  the  very  eve  of  my 
setting  forth,  a  cir- 
cumstance occurred 
which  altered  my 
route  materially.  The 
geologist,  Le  Sueur,  re- 
turned from  the  explo- 
ration of  the  Arkansas 
River  to  report  that 
he  had  heard  from 
the  Indians,  of  rich 
silver  mines  at  its 
head  waters,  which  he  had  not  been  able  personally 
to  investigate,  owing  to  the  lack  of  provisions  for 
so  long  a  journey.  Cadillac,  accordingly,  ordered 

221 


222  MARGARITA. 

me  to  take  a  band  of  soldiers,  and  escort  Le  Sueur 
to  whatever  point  he  decided  upon  as  a  suitable 
camp  and  base  of  supplies  for  his  summer  project- 
ing, and  not  to  leave  him  until  he  felt  that  he  no 
longer  had  any  need  of  my  services,  after  which  I 
would  be  free  to  return  to  Ndtchitoches  by  any 
route  I  pleased. 

We  gave  considerable  study  to  the  Jesuit's  map 
which  I  now  produced,  and  found  the  rumor  of  the 
Indians  confirmed  by  the  writing  which  I  have  al- 
ready mentioned,  "  This  region  is  full  of  mines." 
This  inscription  stretched  across  the  space  between 
the  upper  Arkansas,  and  the  mountains  east  of  the 
most  northern  Spanish  settlements,  and  along  the 
mountain  range  in  smaller  letters  were  the  words, 
"these  mountains  show  traces  of  gold."  Not 
far  from  this  point  was  indicated  their  city  of  Santa 
Fe,  on  the  upper  Rio  Grande.  This  information 
made  me  willing  to  undertake  the  journey,  for 
though  its  beginning  was  quite  in  a  contrary  direc- 
tion from  my  desires,  the  longest  way  around  is 
sometimes  shortest  in  the  end.  I  knew  that  the 
entire  Rio  Grande  valley  from  Santa  F6  to  Presidio 
del  Norte,  was  settled  by  the  Spaniards,  that  there 
were  towns  at  easy  stages  and  direct  communica- 
tion between  them,  therefore  if  I  could  reach  Santa 
F6  after  establishing  Le  Sueur  in  his  mining  camp, 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  223 

it  would  be  perfectly  easy  for  me  to  descend  the 
valley  to  Margarita's  home. 

It  was  certainly  the  safest  route,  for  I  would  not 
have  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  Pawnees  and 
Comanches  as  on  the  Texan  plains,  and  as  the 
Spaniards  could  not  expect  me  from  that  quarter, 
there  would  be  no  orders  for  my  arrest  at  any  of 
their  military  posts. 

The  event  proved  the  wisdom  of  these  calcula- 
tions. Bienville  gave  us  a  train  of  Natchez  Indians 
as  well  as  of  coureurs  de  j>oi#9  and  with  many  carry- 
ings, we  paddled  to  the  point  where  Le  Sueur's  In- 
dian guides  were  waiting  with  ponies.  Here  we 
cached  our  canoes,  and  set  out  on  the  trail  for  the 
snow-capped  mountains.  I  remained  with  Le  Sueur 
for  three  months  before  his  prospecting  met  with 
sufficient  success  for  him  to  locate.  Even  then  he 
judged  himself  so  near  the  Spanish  settlements  that 
he  was  unwilling  that  I  should  draw  off  his  guard. 
I  was  therefore  only  accompanied,  when  I  left  him, 
by  Jallot  and  a  young  Indian  of  that  region,  who 
had  promised  to  guide  me  to  the  vicinity  of 
Santa  Fe. 

We  came  first  upon  a  pueblo  of  Christian  Indians 
called  Santa  Clara, — an  attractive  village  built  of 
adobe  or  sun-dried  bricks,  situated  in  a  charming 
valley.  The  houses  formed  terraces,  reached  by 


224 

rickety  ladders,  the  roof  of  each  house  serving  as 
door  yard  to  the  one  above  it.  Along  these  battle- 
ments naked  children  scampered,  and  older  people 
came  out  to  stare  at  the  strangers,  their  gaily 
striped  blankets  and  scarlet  head  kerchiefs  giving  a 
dash  of  barbaric  color  to  the  light-gray  walls. 
Women  came  and  went  from  the  sleepy  yello\v 
river  with  water-pots,  holding  several  gallons, 
poised  upon  their  heads.  A  captive  eagle  drooped 
in  a  melancholy  attitude  upon  one  of  the  roofs, 
scarlet  peppers  hung  in  festoons  along  the  cornice, 
and  melons  were  ripening  in  the  sunshine.  Pres- 
ently, in  response  to  the  call  of  one  of  the  Indians, 
a  venerable  man,  the  padre  of  the  pueblo,  came 
from  the  village  church  and  welcomed  me.  Corpu- 
lent and  benevolent,  the  aged  missionary  was  a 
very  different  type  of  priest  from  Fra  Luis. 

He  immediately  placed  an  unoccupied  house  at 
our  disposal  and  commanded  some  of  the  Indians  to 
serve  us.  They  spread  a  bountiful  meal  of  stewed 
flesh,  hard  bread,  corn  and  onions,  and  a  basket  of 
fine  plums  which  Jallot  and  I  greatly  enjoyed. 

After  we  were  refreshed  the  padre,  who  had  in- 
troduced himself  as  Fra  Nicolas  Freitas,  led  me 
about  the  pueblo  with  manifest  pride,  for  he  took  a 
fatherly  interest  in  the  physical  as  well  as  the  spir- 
itual well-being  of  his  flock.  He  showed  me  the 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  225 

communal  corral  where  the  herds  of  horses  and 
donkeys  belonging  to  the  tribe  were  kept  at  night, 
being  driven  out  every  morning  to  graze  beside  the 
river.  It  was  harvest  time  and  grain  was  being 
trodden  out  by  ponies  driven  around  a  thresh- 
ing floor.  The  women  were  winnowing  it  in  the 
light  evening  breeze.  From  the  threshing  floor  he 
took  me  to  the  church,  a  dusky  cavernous  building 
whose  roof  was  supported  by  rudely  carved  rafters. 
The  altar  piece  was  painted  upon  skin,  and  had 
been  brought  from  Mexico.  It  represented  Santa 
Clara,  the  patroness  of  the  village.  There  was  also 
a  tattered  piece  of  tapestry  from  old  Spain  ;  not  at 
all  religious  in  character,  for  it  represented  mer- 
maids playing  upon  guitars  and  a  mythological  and 
scantily  robed  lady  driving  a  chariot. 

When  I  expressed  my  surprise  at  the  subject  of 
the  tapestry,  Padre  Nicolas  winked  jovially,  and 
explained  that  the  goddess  was  worshipped  with 
great  devotion  by  his  converts  as  the  miraculous 
assumption  of  Maria  Sanctissima.  He  showed  me 
a  row  of  hideous  earthen  images,  the  fetiches  of  the 
old  religion  brought  into  the  church  to  be  blessed, 
and  afterwards  to  be  carried  in  the  procession  to  the 
arbor  of  corn-stalks  and  pinyon  branches  already 
constructed  on  the  plaza  where  the  dance  would 
take  place. 


226  MARGARITA. 

He  told  me  that  the  Spanish  priests  had  not  at- 
tempted to  eradicate  the  Indians9  religion,  but  to 
transform  it  into  Christianity,  and  he  had  much 
that  was  interesting  to  relate  of  the  strange  Zoo- 
theistic  mythology.  He  had  led  them  to  reverence 
the  Holy  Spirit  under  its  symbol  of  a  dove  from 
their  belief  that  it  was  a  representation  of  an  eagle, 
their  own  mediator  between  the  earth  and  heaven. 
All  around  Santa  Clara  stretched  fertile  fields, 
whose  cultivation  the  padre  encouraged,  blessing 
their  crops  in  autumn  and  the  planting  in  the  spring. 
He  was  disappointed  that  we  would  not  remain  to 
witness  the  harvest  festival,  which  was  now  in 
preparation,  and  led  me  into  the  sacristy  to  show 
me  some  hideous  processional  effigies  representing 
saints  which  would  be  carried  in  company  with  the 
fetiches. 

I  expressed  my  regret  that  my  time  was  limited, 
explaining  that  I  was  the  bearer  of  despatches  from 
the  French  commandant  to  the  Viceroy,  and  that  I 
must  continue  my  journey  to  Mexico  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Padre  Nicolas  informed  me  that  my  visit  could 
not  have  happened  more  opportunely,  for  Juan 
PArcheveque,  a  wealthy  trader  of  Santa  Clara,  who 
made  not  infrequent  trips  to  the  City  of  Mexico, 
was  on  the  point  of  setting  out  with  a  train  of 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  227 

mules,  laden  with  peltries  to  be  exchanged  for  the 
commodities  of  civilization.  I  could  do  no  better 
than  to  join  his  company. 

Juan  PArcheveque  proved  to  be  a  swarthy,  un- 
dersized but  agile  man  in  middle  life,  with  a  deter- 
mined mouth  and  chin  and  a  furtive  sidelong 
glance.  We  conversed  in  Spanish  and  as  his  cos- 
tume was  Mexican,  the  broad  sombrero  jacket  and 
wide  leggins  abundantly  ornamented  with  silver 
buttons  and  fringes,  I  had  no  suspicion  that  he  was 
not  a  Spaniard.  He  was  extremely  taciturn,  and 
although  he  made  no  objection  to  our  joining  his 
caravan,  I  could  see  that  he  regarded  me  with  dis- 
trust. My  arrival  in  the  village  was  such  an  event 
in  the  monotonous  life  of  Fra  Nicolas  that  he  made 
my  introduction  to  the  Governor  of  New  Mexico 
the  excuse  of  a  trip  to  the  capital  and  accompanied 
us  to  Santa  Fe,  where  PArcheveque  was  to  be 
joined  by  the  greater  part  of  his  train.  Here  we 
paid  our  respects  to  the  Captain  General,  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Penuela,  who  received  me  with  ceremoni- 
ous politeness.  He  was  favorably  impressed  with 
me  on  my  proving  to  his  satisfaction  that  I  was  the 
son-in-law  of  his  friend  Don  Kaimon  di  Villesco, 
and  that  I  had  been  in  the  City  of  Mexico  and  was 
acquainted  with  the  Due  de  Linares,  and  also  with 
Don  Andreas  de  la  Kiola,  Commandant  of  Pensacola. 


228  MARGARITA. 

But  though  I  dwelt  on  the  friendly  relations  of 
our  governments,  I  could  see  that  he  was  surprised, 
and  not  pleasantly  so,  that  the  French  settlements 
had  crept  so  near  their  own,  that  it  was  possible 
for  neighborly  visits  to  be  made  between  them.  I 
made  a  mistake  too,  in  referring  to  La  Salle's  dis- 
covery of  the  Mississippi,  as  our  warrant  for  pos- 
session of  the  valley.  L'Archeveque  gave  me  a 
particularly  ugly  look,  and  the  Governor  replied, 
"  You  forget  that  our  de  Soto  discovered  the  Great 
River  one  hundred  and  forty  years  before  your  pre- 
tender usurped  his  rights.  It  is  very  possibly  not 
known  to  you  that  La  Salle  gained  all  his  definite  in- 
formation of  the  lower  Mississippi  from  a  Spanish 
traitor,  Governor  Diego  de  Penalosa,  who  before 
the  Indian  insurrection  held  the  position  whirh  I 
now  occupy.  In  1662,  he  marched  with  eighty 
soldiers  and  many  Indians  to  take  possession  of  de 
Soto's  discoveries,  but  his  request  for  facilities  to 
colonize  was  not  granted  by  our  sovereign,  and  the 
unprincipled  one  went  to  Paris  and  offered  his  serv- 
vioes  to  your  King." 

I  replied  that  I  had  heard  of  this  circumstance, 
but  that  La  Salle  did  not  avail  himself  of  Penalosa's 
aid,  his  account  of  his  expedition  not  being  credited 
in  France. 

Fra  Nicolas  had  listened  to  our  conversation  with 


A  LONGEB  JOURNEY.  229 

ever  increasing  agitation,  and  he  now  interrupted 
me  excitedly. 

"  Not  believed ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Why  then  were 
his  papers  retained  ?  Where  is  the  map  which  I 
made  for  Governor  Penalosa,  of  the  Great  Kiver 
and  the  mines  ?  Yes,  which  I  made,  for  I  accom- 
panied him  on  that  toilsome  journey,  and  wrote  the 
account  of  the  great  fire-opal  of  the  Natchez,  after 
my  return  to  Gran  Quivira,  where  I  was  then 
settled.  A  fair  mission  and  a  rich  one,  for  it  was 
near  great  silver  mines.  The  Indians  worked  them 
long  ago,  but  had  ceased  to  do  so.  Nevertheless 
they  brought  me  occasionally  great  masses  of  ore, 
and  the  native  silversmiths  of  other  pueblos  ham- 
mered me  from  the  gifts  of  my  parishioners,  candle- 
sticks, a  cloth  yard  high,  and  other  sacred  vessels. 
I  could  show  them  to  you  if  you  would  but  go  with 
me,  for  I  buried  them  ere  I  fled,  being  warned  in 
time  of  the  insurrection.  Not  believed !  Ah !  that 
is  the  heart-break!  Even  the  Marquis  here,  does 
not  credit  what  I  tell  him  sufficiently  to  send  sol- 
diers and  establish  me  again  at  my  old  mission. 
The  King  of  Spain  did  not  believe  Penuela  and  he 
turned  traitor.  Sometimes  I  believe  that  I  shall 
turn  maniac — it  is  so  hard  to  wear  one's  heart  out  in 
great  enterprises  and  be  paid  with  ingratitude  and 
incredulity." 


230  MARGARITA. 

His  entire  appearance  bad  changed.  He  was 
transformed  from  an  easy-going,  benevolent  old 
man  into  a  fanatic. 

"  You  are  right,  Fra  Nicolas,"  the  Governor  said 
sternly.  "  Your  brain  is  surely  turned  or  you 
would  not  speak  thus  in  the  presence  of  a  French- 
man. As  for  the  indifference  with  which  you 
charge  me — you  forget  that  your  converts  at  Gran 
Quivira  were  wandering  bands  of  Texan  Indians 
who  came  for  a  time  and  camped  about  your  mis- 
sion, but  who  burned  your  buildings  and  killed 
your  more  faithful  followers  who  gave  the 
alarm  and  aided  you  in  your  escape.  They 
have  returned  to  their  nomad  life,  and  are 
twice  the  savages  that  they  were  at  first.  It  would 
be  certain  death  to  attempt  a  settlement  there. 
These  Pueblo  Indians  are  a  different  sort ;  they  are 
more  civilized  and  have  welcomed  us  back.  You 
should  be  satisfied  with  your  present  quarters, 
nor  envy  the  French  their  task  with  those  river- 
savages.  Come  with  me,  Senor,"  he  said  to  me, 
"  and  see  the  Church  of  San  Miguel,  which  I  have 
built,  and  tell  me  whether  you  have  anything  com- 
parable to  it  in  the  Natchez  country." 

Certainly  we  had  not;  my  eyes  stood  out  with 
surprise  and  envy,  as  we  passed  from  the  great 
church  to  the  beautiful  garden  of  the  bishop  and 


A  LONG  EH  JOURNEY.  231 

sat  beside  the  carp-pool  shaded  by  fruit  trees  break- 
ing with  their  tempting  burdens.  Fra  Nicolas  fol- 
lowed us  uneasily.  He  evidently  longed  to  say 
more,  and  I  burned  to  show  him  his  own  map 
hidden  within  my  bosom,  but  as  I  had  still  need  for 
it  I  did  not  risk  its  seizure  by  any  imprudence. 

I  doubted  not  but  that  Fra  Luis  had  discovered 
this  map  in  Paris,  perhaps  had  come  to  France  in 
search  of  it,  and  but  for  his  flight  at  the  time  of  the 
murder  would  have  carried  it  away  with  him.  The 
Marquis  de  Penuela  gave  us  no  opportunity  for 
further  conversation,  but  remained  with  us  until  I 
took  saddle  for  my  southern  journey.  We  were 
several  miles  on  our  way  when  a  horseman  over- 
took us.  It  was  his  excellency's  body  servant,  who 
handed  1'Archeveque  a  letter.  The  circumstance 
gave  me  no  little  apprehension,  for  the  man  had  by 
mistake  handed  it  first  to  me,  and  it  was  addressed 
to  the  Due  de  Linares,  Viceroy  of  Mexico. 

My  further  journey  down  the  valley  of  the  Kio 
Grande  was  not  without  interest,  for  we  paused 
each  night  at  some  Indian  pueblo  or  Spanish  pre- 
sidio or  settlement,  often,  however,  to  camp  in  the 
open  rather  than  avail  ourselves  of  the  hospitality 
of  the  posadas.  My  companion  rarely  forgot  him- 
self so  far  as  to  indulge  in  conversation  with  me, 
and  yet  I  was  sure  from  his  chat  with  his  Indians 


232  MARGARITA. 

that  he  was  not  by  nature  a  silent  man.  In  my 
company,  however,  he  was  continually  on  his  guard, 
and  at  length  I  comprehended  the  reason.  Fancy- 
ing himself  not  understood,  Jallot  had  indulged  in 
some  not  over  complimentary  remarks  relative  to 
Spaniards  in  general  and  to  1'Archeveque  in  partic- 
ular, when  the  latter  had  faced  the  astounded  Jal- 
lot with  a  volley  of  good  French  oaths. 

"Sapristi!"  I  exclaimed,  "you  are  a  French- 
man I " 

The  color  flared  in  his  swarthy  cheeks,  then  died 
to  ashes.  "  I  was  a  Frenchman,"  he  admitted, "  but 
I  have  no  country  now,  but  New  Spain." 

"  And  what  could  have  happened,1'  I  demanded, 
"  to  make  you  repudiate  your  native  country  ?  " 

"  Very  much  what  has  happened  to  you,  Senor  ;  I 
married  a  Spanish  girl." 

"  But  that  was  not  all,"  I  insisted ;  "  the  King  of 
France,  the  great  Louis,  set  us  that  example,  but 
who  shall  call  him  a  Spaniard  ?  " 

"  No,  but  if  France  made  you  both  fugitives  and 
outlaws  with  a  price  upon  your  heads,  and  Spain 
offered  you  home  and  love  and  safety,  I  fancy  that 
you  and  the  King  of  France  himself  would  hardly 
let  your  patriotism  outweigh  your  love  of  life,  and 
you  might  even  have  some  gratitude  for  your  bene- 
factors." 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  233 

lie  spoke  very  bitterly,  and  I  asked  his  pardon, 
saying  that  I  could  well  understand  that  he  had 
passed  through  some  terrible  experience,  and  pos- 
sibly in  his  place  I  should  feel  as  he  did. 

"  That  you  would,"  he  replied,  and  throwing  off 
all  reserve  he  told  me  that  he  had  come  to  Louis- 
iana with  La  Salle.  That  he  was  the  miserable 
boy  who,  through  fear  of  being  killed,  had  drawn 
his  master  into  the  ambuscade  where  he  had  been 
murdered  by  Liotot  and  Duhaut. 

I  could  not  repress  a  gesture  of  abhorrence. 

"  I  do  not  wonder,"  he  cried.  "  You  cannot 
hate  me  more  than  I  hate  myself,  but  at  least  take 
into  consideration  the  fact  of  my  youth,  that  I  was 
a  coward,  and  that  I  did  not  know.  I  swear  I  did 
not  know  that  they  meant  to  murder  him.  All  the 
same  you  would  hang  me  if  you  had  the  power,  and 
so  would  any  Frenchman.  But  you  shall  not  have 
the  opportunity.  I  have  a  wife  who  is  dear  to  me, 
and  I  will  fight  for  my  home  and  for  the  people 
who  have  taken  me  in." 

He  was  not  a  bad  man  at  heart,  and  under  other 
circumstances  might  have  done  himself  and  his 
country  honor. 

Chancing  to  ask  him  one  day  of  the  native  gems 
of  the  country  and  explaining  that  I  had  learned 
the  trade  of  a  lapidary,  he  ran  to  one  of  his  mules, 


234  MARGARITA. 

and  bringing  me  a  small  sack  poured  a  heap  of  tur- 
quoises at  my  feet.  I  examined  them  with  great 
interest.  They  were  from  the  mines  of  Cerillos,  he 
said,  west  of  Santa  Fe,  and  were  so  plenty  that 
they  were  little  considered.  Opals  were  more  rare ; 
he  had  a  few  of  these  to  submit  to  a  difficult  cus- 
tomer at  Queretaro,  a  Jesuit  priest  whom  he  had 
never  been  able  to  satisfy,  as  he  wished  a  stone  of 
extraordinary  size. 

"So,"  I  thought  to  myself,  "Fra  Luis  has  not 
given  up  the  fight,  but  intends  to  enter  the  field 
with  another  opal,  but  I  was  not  prepared  for  the 
revelation  which  was  to  come. 

44 1  shall  never  find  the  opal  he  is  in  search  of," 
he  added  after  a  pause,  "  though  I  saw  it  long  ago. 
The  Sieur  la  Salle  had  it.  Twas  given  him  by  a 
messenger  from  the  Natchez  Indians  as  symbol  of 
their  good-will ;  but  Liotot  stole  it  from  him,  and 
Liotot  was  left  for  dead  by  Hiems  who  thought  he 
had  killed  him. 

44  We  were  taken  to  Spain  by  the  Spaniards,  and 
on  the  very  ship  that  took  us  we  found  Liotot 
who  had  come  to  life  and  wandered  to  Mexico. 
Hiems  and  he  were  clapped  into  the  galleys,  but 
on  account  of  my  youth  and  the  fancy  that  the 
Marquis  de  Penuela  took  to  me  I  was  allowed  to 
come  back. 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  236 

"  I  told  Fra  Luis  in  Spain  that  either  Liotot  or 
Iliems  had  the  opal.  He  had  already  heard  of  it 
through  Fra  Nicolas  whom  you  saw  at  Santa  Clara. 
'Tis  a  strange  story.  Fra  Luis  tells  me  that  he 
nearly  found  it  in  Paris,  but  that  Hiems  tricked 
him,  killed  Liotot  and  fled  to  England  with  the 
stone.  Any  one  but  Fra  Luis  would  have  given  up 
after  that,  but  he  had  an  imitation  made  in  Paris 
which  he  brought  out  with  him.  But  it  seems  that 
the  French  had  learned  that  the  stone  conferred 
magical  influence  over  the  Indians  on  its  possessor, 
and  they  sent  an  accomplished  villain  into  Mexico 
who  stole  the  imitation  stone  from  Fra  Luis,  to 
their  own  destruction,  as  he  told  me,  for  when  the 
Indians  compare  the  real  one  with  the  one  the 
French  have  palmed  off  upon  them  they  will  pay 
the  French  for  their  deceit." 

I  could  hardly  credit  my  ears.  Was  it  possible 
that  he  spoke  truly,  that  I  had  been  deceived,  that 
Hiems  really  possessed  the  original  gem  and  that 
Fra  Luis  had  broken  Colin's  window  and  stolen  the 
imitation  one,  instead  of  claiming  it  openly  and  so 
acquainting  us  not  only  with  the  fact  of  its  where- 
abouts, but  also  by  inference  letting  us  know  that 
he  had  failed  in  obtaining  the  true  talisman  ? 

The  more  I  thought  it  over  the  more  convinced  I 
became  that  this  was  the  real  state  of  the  case. 


236  MARGARITA. 

But  if  so,  the  French  were  in  a  very  critical  situa- 
tion, for  Hiems  would  sooner  or  later  put  Stinging 
Serpent  in  possession  of  the  real  talisman.  Kvi 
dently  Fra  Luis  did  not  know  that  Hiems  had 
arrived  upon  the  scene  since  he  was  seeking  for 
another  opal  from  which  to  cut  a  second  imitation. 
One  thing  was  impressed  upon  my  mind  by  all  of 
this  information — the  necessity  of  immediately 
capturing  Hiems  before  he  could  make  good  his 
claim.  But  miles  of  wilderness  separated  me  from 
Bienville,  with  no  possibility  of  communication. 
Moreover,  I  was  every  moment  increasing  the  dis- 
tance between  us,  and  I  had  no  intention  of  turning 
back  until  I  had  found  Margarita. 

L'Archeveque  supposed  that  I  was  going  to  the 
City  of  Mexico  with  him;  he  was  therefore  much 
surprised  when  I  bade  him  farewell  at  the  next  set- 
tlement north  of  Presido  del  Norte,  saying  that  I 
had  business  here. 

I  did  not  care  to  approach  Margarita's  home, 
where  I  was  known,  by  daylight,  and  I  therefore 
waited  until  1'Archeveque  was  some  two  hours  in 
advance  of  me  and  then  continued  my  journey  with 
Jallot,  arriving  on  the  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande 
opposite  to  the  presidio  late  in  the  evening.  Jallot 
camped  here  with  the  horses  and  I  swam  the  riven 
arriving  dripping  in  the  lower  part  of  the  garden — 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  237 

after  having  forced  my  way  through  a  hedge  of 
sharp  aloes.  The  moon  was  rising  as  I  found  my- 
self at  the  terrace  steps  beside  the  little  bench 
where  we  had  watched  together  the  opening  of  the 
wonder-flower.  There  was  no  blossom  on  its  spiny 
stalk  now,  and  for  the  first  time  a  sudden  fear 
gripped  my  heart.  What  if  Margarita  were  dead 
or  had  ceased  to  love  me?  I  remembered  the  song 
which  she  had  sung  of  the  return  of  the  swallows 
and  the  awakening  of  the  flowers,  with  its  plaintive 
refrain, 

"  Alas  it  is  not  so  with  the  guests  of  the  heart 
for  when  love  dies,  though  the  lover  returns,  a  dead 
love  cannot  reawaken." 

Suddenly  the  very  words  thrilled  through  the 
night.  It  was  Margarita  singing :  "  A  dead  love — 
a  dead  love,  cannot  reawaken." 

I  cleared  the  steps  almost  at  a  bound  and  stood 
before  her  open  window. 

"  Margarita,"  I  cried,  "  my  love  is  not  dead,  do 
not  tell  me  that  yours  is,  or  my  heart  will  break." 
For  answer  her  arms  were  round  my  neck  and  she 
was  sobbing  and  kissing  me,  in  an  agony  of  joy. 

Don  Eaimon  heard  her  and  sprang  into  the  patio, 
sword  in  hand, — but  he  dropped  his  weapon  on 
recognizing  me.  "  At  last,"  he  said.  "  Why,  in  the 
name  of  all  the  saints,  have  you  not  come  before  ?  " 


238  MAROAHITA. 

We  talked  long,  for  we  had  much  to  tell  each 
other.  Margarita  and  her  father  had  written  me 
as  I  had  her,  but  our  letters  were  stopped,  mine  in 
Pensacola  and  theirs  in  Mexico,  and  only  served  to 
enlighten  Fra  Luis  as  to  our  feelings  and  intentions. 
As  we  compared  notes,  his  motives  became  plain, 
and  we  saw  too  how  his  plans  had  been  frustrated 
by  Margarita.  The  priest  had  had  little  experience 
with  women;  he  could  not  understand  the  heart 
of  a  noble  woman  like  my  wife,  and  he  had  never 
loved,  therefore  he  naturally  miscalculated  the 
effect  of  his  interference  both  upon  her  and  upon 
me. 

He  believed  that  if  Margarita  were  only  beyond 
my  reach,  I  would  console  myself  with  Weenonah 
and  very  possibly  carry  out  his  original  scheme  of 
winning  over  the  Natchez  to  the  Spanish  side,  and 
of  delivering  Fort  Natchitoches  to  the  Spaniards 
whenever  summoned  to  do  so.  If  on  the  contrary 
I  set  out  for  Presidio  del  Norte,  he  counted  on  my 
coming  either  by  the  route  across  Texas  by  the 
way  of  the  new  missions,  or  by  the  sloops  which 
plied  from  Pensacola  to  Vent  Cruz;  and  at  all 
these  points  there  were  orders  for  my  arrest. 

He  relied  too  on  Margarita's  help  from  a  desire 
of  revenge.  He  had  assured  her  of  my  perfidy  and 
she  had  at  first  believed  him,  and  had  returned  to 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  239 

her  home  under  his  escort;  but  he  had  said  too 
much.  He  had  endeavored  to  make  her  think  that 
I  had  never  loved  her,  and  she  knew  me  too  well  to 
believe  that.  Then  as  she  was  better  able  to  weigh 
all  that  he  told,  she  began  to  doubt,  and  when  he 
proposed  that  she  should  attempt  to  lead  me  into 
an  ambush,  all  her  soul  revolted.  There  was  no 
desire  for  revenge  in  Margarita's  heart.  If  I  had 
been  the  wretch  that  Fra  Luis  painted  me,  she 
would  still  have  forgiven  me,  and  have  died.  She 
was  woman  enough  not  to  enlighten  him  at  once, 
and  he  had  left  Presidio  del  Norte  counting  on  her 
cooperation. 

Then  Don  Raimon  di  Villesco  had  returned,  and 
Margarita  knew  how  mistaken  she  had  been.  Her 
father  would  not  expose  her  to  crossing  the  plains 
in  the  winter,  and  so  she  had  written  and  written, 
and  waited,  and  now  I  had  come ! 

Such  happiness  could  not  last.  The  precautions 
which  I  had  taken  only  served  to  awaken  Juan 
1'Archeveque's  suspicions.  He  spoke  of  his  mysteri- 
ons  companion  in  the  town.  Search  was  made  and 
Jallot  discovered ;  and  though  the  poor  fellow  lied 
persistently,  maintaining  that  he  had  come  back 
alone  for  love  of  Don  Raimon's  cook,  Lucia— FArche- 
veque's  testimony  was  confirmed  by  the  finding  of 
the  two  saddled  horses. 


240  MARGARITA. 

My  identity  and  ray  hiding-place  were  at  once 
surmised,  and,  as  a  warrant  for  my  arrest  had  been 
posted,  the  officers  of  the  law  appeared  in  a  few 
days  at  Margarita's  home.  I  refused  to  compro- 
mise Don  Raimon  by  allowing  him  to  bide  me,  but 
gave  myself  up,  and  prepared  myself  for  a  second 
undesired  visit  to  the  City  of  Mexico.  For  the 
second  time  too,  Margarita  and  her  father  und< T 
took  the  toilsome  journey  in  my  behalf. 

Don  Raimon  counted  much  on  his  friendship 
with  the  Due  do  Linares.  His  hopes  were  still 
further  raised  on  our  arrival  at  the  Capital  by  the 
news  that  Fra  Luis  was  not  in  Mexico.  At  least 
we  should  not  have  to  combat  his  malignity,  for 
my  indefatigable  enemy  had  recently  sailed  for 
Pensacola. 

"But  why  has  he  gone  to  Florida  ?"  I  asked, 
puzzled  and  apprehensive. 

"  Doubtless  to  visit  his  brother  Don  Andreas  de 
la  Riola,"  suggested  Don  Raimon. 

But  Margarita's  woman's  intuition  leaped  to  the 
true  reason.  "He  knows  that  Ilinns  is  with  the 
Chickasaws,  and  has  gone  to  secure  the  real  talis- 
man I  He  can  afford  to  lose  sight  of  you  for  the 
moment,  and  to  allow  the  Natchez  to  remain  un- 
suspicious that  the  French  have  cemented  their 
alliance  by  fraud,  until  he  has  the  key  to  the  situa- 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  241 

tion  in  his  power.  His  first  move  will  be  to  in- 
duce the  Chickasaws  to  deliver  up  Hiems  to  the 
Governor  of  Pensacola." 

"An  alliance  between  the  Chickasaws  and  the 
Spaniards  in  Florida  would  not  be  a  bad  thing  for 
us  at  this  time,"  I  said  thoughtfully,  "  for  it  would 
keep  away  Hiems  from  the  Natchez  and  delay  the 
advance  of  the  English  upon  the  Mississippi.  But 
the  English  are  shrewd  enough  to  see  this,  and 
through  such  agents  as  English  Jem,  will  keep  the 
Chickasaws  at  enmity  with  both  the  Spaniards  and 
the  French,  and  strive  to  gain  a  hold  upon  the 
Natchez.  The  English  are  pressing  west  from 
Carolina  and  Virginia.  They  are  frankly  debating 
the  Mississippi  with  our  settlers.  I  think  our  real 
danger  lies  with  the  English,  for  what  use  could 
Fra  Luis  make  of  the  opal  even  if  he  obtains  it,  so 
long  as  France  and  Spain  are  at  peace  ?" 

41  The  same  use  which  he  intended  to  make  of 
you,"  said  Margarita.  "  Some  one  will  be  found, 
either  a  French  traitor  or  a  Spanish  fanatic,  who 
will  let  the  Natchez  know  that  the  French  have 
deceived  them,  and  that  the  opal  is  in  the  hands  of 
a  Spanish  chief.  They  will  be  prepared  for  a 
breaking  out  of  hostilities  between  France  and 
Spain,  and  when  it  comes  will  side  with  the 
Spanish." 


242  MARGARITA. 

I  replied  that  I  hoped  there  would  be  no  more 
fighting  between  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards. 

Don  Raimon  shook  his  head.  "  Do  not  deceive 
yourself,"  he  said,  "it  will  come.  If  we  American 
colonists  were  left  to  ourselves  we  might  live  to- 
gether in  peace,  but  those  Kings  over  there  will 
fall  out  over  nothing  and  will  set  us  to  cutting  each 
others9  throats." 

This  conversation  bad  been  held  in  the  prison  of 
the  City  of  Mexico,  where  I  was  again  confined. 
An  audience  with  the  Viceroy  had  been  obtained  for 
the  next  day,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  would 
surely  be  released,  for  what  crime  had  I  committed  ? 

Don  Raimon  had  told  me  that  a  French  traveriier 
under  the  command  of  Le  Moyne  do  Chateauguay,  a 
younger  brother  of  Bienville's,  was  lying  at  Vera 
Cruz,  and  that  a  messenger  had  come  to  the  city 
from  the  ship,  bearing  letters  for  the  Viceroy  from 
the  French  Governor.  I  knew  that  this  meant 
that  Cadillac  was  making  another  plea  for  the  in- 
troduction of  Crozat's  merchandise.  I  hoped  that 
he  might  have  mentioned  me  and  that  the  Due  de 
Linares  would  be  impressed  with  my  importance, 
and  the  bad  policy  of  offending  the  French  Gover- 
nor by  detaining  me. 

I  knew  that  Chateauguay  would  be  pleased  to 
take  me,  my  wife  and  my  valet  back  to  New 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  243 

Orleans.  I  saw  myself  already  arrived  after  a 
quick  passage — discussing  all  these  events  with 
Bienville. 

If  I  could  only  see  him  for  one  moment  and  tell 
him  of  Fra  Luis'  last  move.  For  its  importance 
grew  upon  me.  Hiems  must  be  secured  before  he 
could  effect  a  juncture  either  with  the  Natches  or 
Fra  Luis.  There  was  one  way  in  which  it  could  be 
easily  managed.  The  Natchez  were  at  peace  with 
the  Chickasaws  but  the  Choctaws  were  their  hered- 
itary foes.  Bienville  must  permit  the  Choctaws 
to  go  on  the  war-path  against  the  Chickasaws  and 
capture  Hiems. 

My  impatience  grew  with  the  realization  of  the 
importance  of  instant  departure,  but  several  days 
dragged  by  before  any  message  reached  me  from 
the  Viceroy.  Margarita  and  Don  Raimon  came  at 
last,  and  I  knew  from  the  first  glance  at  their  faces 
that  something  had  gone  wrong.  My  father-in- 
law's  wore  an  assumption  of  cheerfulness,  but  my 
wife's  was  full  of  trouble. 

The  reason  of  my  arrest  was  now  explained.  My 
captaincy  in  the  Spanish  Army  had  been  made  out 
by  the  Junta,  and  notice  to  join  my  regiment  in 
Mexico  had  been  served  upon  me  by  Fra  Luis  at 
the  time  of  his  visit  to  Fort  Natchitoches. 

It  was  in  vain  that  Don  Raimon  had  plead  that  I 


244  MARGARITA. 

was  in  entire  ignorance  of  all  this.  The  Due  de 
Linares  affirmed  that  I  had  received  my  liberty  on 
promise  of  reporting  for  duty  when  called  upon 
to  do  so. 

This  was  not  exactly  as  I  understood  the  matter, 
and  I  fell  into  an  impotent  rage,  which  rejoiced 
Margarita. 

"  I  told  the  Duke,"  she  said,  "  that  you  could 
never  have  consented  to  such  a  thing,  that  you 
were  a  French  subject,  and  that  he  had  no  power 
over  you ;  but  I  only  angered  him,  and  my  father 
bade  me  be  silent." 

"  But  not  soon  enough,"  said  Don  Raimon  "  It 
is  inconceivable  what  mischief  a  good  woman  can  do. 
"I  will  put  to  you  several  plain  suggestions,  Mon- 
sieur de  St.  Denis.  Of  what  use  is  it  to  combat  the 
irresistible  ?  Are  you  in  the  Duke's  power  or  not  ? 
Do  you  wish  to  leave  Margarita  a  widow  ?  What 
difference  is  there  whether  she  becomes  a  subject 
of  France  for  your  sake,  or  whether  you  become  a 
subject  of  Spain  for  hers,  provided  you  live  your 
lives  together?  Is  not  your  love  for  each  other 
more  sacred  than  your  allegiance  to  the  Grande 
Monarque,  who  cares  not  an  atom  for  your 
loyalty?" 

"  I  could  never  fight  against  France,"  I  said.  "  I 
could  never  be  a  traitor,  and  turn  over  Fort  Natch- 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  245 

itoches  and  my  Indian  subjects  to  Spain  as  Fra 
Luis  wished  me  to  do." 

"  There  is  no  longer  any  question  of  Fra  Luis  or 
his  designs,"  said  Don  Raimon,  somewhat  hurt. 
"  Believe  me,  I  would  be  the  last  to  propose  any- 
thing dishonorable  to  a  member  of  my  own  family. 
I  have  made  the  best  terms  possible  with  the  Duke. 
You  are  appointed  to  a  post  where  you  will  in  no 
human  probability  ever  come  in  contact  with  the 
French.  Margarita  will  go  with  you.  I  have 
given  the  Duke  my  word  that  you  will  accept  the 
captain's  commission  which  has  not  yet  been  can- 
celled, and  that  you  will  set  out  to-morrow  for 
Guatemala." 

"  For  Guatemala  !"  Not  to  be  able  to  help  Bien- 
ville  in  the  present  crisis,  never  to  look  upon  my 
friend's  face  again  !  I  comprehended  that  Fra  Luis 
had  not  forgotten  me,  but  in  the  light  of  recent  oc- 
currences had  done  me  the  compliment  to  doubt  my 
usefulness  as  a  Spanish  emissary  among  the  Natchez 
and  the  likelihood  of  my  turning  traitor  to  my 
country.  On  the  contrary  he  considered  me  a 
formidable  enemy  who  must  be  removed.  I  knew 
too  much  of  his  aims  and  of  his  methods  to  be  al- 
lowed to  remain  in  New  France. 

I  uttered  a  cry  of  anguish,  "  I  will  never  con- 
sent, never." 


246  MAROA/;/T.\. 

"Very  well,  tin  n,  we  leave  you  to  your  fate. 
We  have  done  all  we  can." 

Don  Raimon  left  my  cell  with  dignity,  but  Mar- 
garita called  after  him.  "  Wait  for  me  outside, 
father,  I  will  persuade  him." 

"  You  wish  it  ?  "  I  asked  reproachfully. 

"  I  wish  it,"  she  replied ;  "  can  you  not  trust  me  ?  " 
There  was  something  in  her  face,  a  mixture  of 
pride  and  honesty  which  I  could  not  quite  under- 
stand in  connection  with  her  present  attitude.  She 
could  not  look  at  me  so  cheerfully  and  counsel  me 
to  dishonor. 

"  I  trust  you,"  I  cried,  "  for  I  believe  you  are 
helping  me  to  escape,  that  you  have  arranged  to  get 
me  off  to  Chateauguay  at  Vera  Cruz." 

"  Chateauguay  has  sailed  for  New  Orleans,"  she 
said.  "  You  have  no  choice  but  to  remain  in  this 
prison  or  to  accept  the  Viceroy's  conditions.  Never- 
theless your  honor  is  safe  in  my  hands." 

Her  finger  was  on  her  lip  and  her  head  on  one 
side.  She  was  listening. 

I  comprehended,  the  walls  had  ears.  I  flashed 
her  a  look  of  confidence  and  replied:  "I  will  do 
whatever  you  ask." 

"Father,"  she  called  joyfully,  "he  consents. 
Farewell,  beloved,  we  start  together  to-morrow  1 " 

While  I  could  look  into  Margarita's  clear  eyes  I 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  247 

could  trust  her,  but  after  she  left  me  I  asked  myself 
if  I  had  acted  wisely. 

Louis  XIV  himself  had  bade  me  beware  of  Span- 
ish women.  In  the  last  test  would  Margarita  pre- 
fer my  loyalty  to  my  country,  to  my  love  ?  It  was 
a  hard  question,  and  I  solved  it  alternately  for  and 
against  my  wife  each  hour  that  night.  Sometimes 
she  even  seemed  to  me  a  Delilah  in  league  with 
Fra  Luis  to  accomplish  my  undoing. 

When  the  dapper  military  tailor  entered  to  meas- 
ure me  for  my  uniform,  I  chanced  to  be  in  an  opti- 
mistic mood,  congratulating  myself  on  its  useful- 
ness as  a  disguise,  but  when  the  door  was  closed 
upon  him  I  fell  into  a  rage  with  myself  for  giving 
him  the  order. 

In  the  sudden  crises  of  life  one  frequently  has  no 
time  to  consider,  and  is  pushed  into  action  with  no 
realization  either  of  the  principles  or  consequences 
involved;  but  here  I  had  time  for  reflection.  It 
was  true  that  I  was  in  deep  ignorance  of  what  the 
outcome  might  be,  and  my  present  interest  coun- 
selled me  to  a  pretended  change  of  allegiance ;  but 
it  is  against  my  nature  to  do  anything  on  compul- 
sion, and  as  my  anger  cooled  I  tried  to  imagine 
how  the  transaction  would  look  in  the  long  record 
of  my  life,  what  Bienville  would  say  when  he  heard 
of  it,  and  whether  I  could  hold  my  own  head  up 


248  MARGARITA. 

with  any  self-respect  as  an  officer  in  the  service  of 
the  King  of  Spain.  A  man's  honor  is  in  his  own 
keeping  always,  and  he  has  no  right  to  delegate  it 
to  another,  no  matter  how  trusted  or  loved. 

I  had  absolved  Margarita  in  my  own  mind  of  the 
infamous  intent  of  betraying  me  with  which  I  had 
slandered  her  in  my  midnight  thoughts.  But  her 
very  love  for  me  made  her  an  untrustworthy  judge 
of  what  was  my  duty.  And  when  time  gave  her 
the  proper  focus  and  she  saw  it  at  last,  crystal  clear 
as  I  did,  would  she  not  come  to  despise  me  if  I 
yielded  now  to  her  own  pleading? 

The  cold  morning  light  stole  in  and  found  me 
profoundly  disheartened,  but  with  my  mind  made 
up.  Jallot,  who  had  been  allowed  to  minister  to 
me  as  on  my  first  imprisonment,  came  with  my  uni- 
form, and  counselled  patience  and  confidence  in  my 
wife. 

"  Madame  has  some  scheme,"  he  said.  "  She  was 
shopping  yesterday  afternoon,  buying  all  sorts  of 
things  for  the  journey  to  Acapulco.  I  have  never 
seen  her  so  gay 

"  To  Acapulco ! "  I  cried,  "  on  the  Pacific,  where 
no  French  vessel  ever  touches  and  where  we  are  to 
await  the  arrival  of  the  frigate  which  is  to  take  us 
to  Guatemala.  O  Jallot!  Jallot!  Since  I  must 
spend  my  life  in  exile,  I  will  go  as  a  prisoner,  not 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  249 

of  my  own  free  will.  The  Viceroy  can  kill  me  if  he 
pleases,  but  he  cannot  compel  me  to  sell  my  honor. 
I  refuse  to  give  up  my  allegiance  to  France." 

The  jailer  threw  open  the  door  of  my  cell  with 
the  anouncement,  "  His  excellency  the  Due  de 
Linares,"  and  the  Viceroy,  followed  by  Margarita 
and  Don  Raimon  stood  before  me.  I  knew  by  his 
scornful  smile  that  he  had  heard  my  passionate  dec- 
laration, though  he  did  not  refer  to  it.  "Senor 
de  St.  Denis,"  he  said,  "  I  realize  that  France  loses 
in  you  a  devoted  adherent,  while  Spain  gains  but  a 
half-hearted  one.  However,  I  am  confident  that 
the  same  idea  of  honor  which  forbade  you  to  sur- 
render a  French  fortress  to  us  would  render  it  im- 
possible to  meditate  an  act  of  treachery  to  Spain, 
and  that  you  would  serve  us  loyally  against  any 
enemy  except  France.  Can  you  promise  me  as 
much  as  this  ?  " 

"  Willingly,  Monsieur  le  Due,"  I  replied.  "  At 
the  same  time  I  must  warn  you  that  I  remain  in 
Mexico  only  of  necessity." 

"  And  that  if  you  have  an  opportunity  to  return 
to  the  service  of  France  you  will  do  so  ?  "  he  com- 
pleted the  sentence  for  me. 

"  No,  no,"  cried  Don  Raimon,  "  not  that.  If  my 
son-in-law  once  gives  his  parole  he  will  keep  it.  He 
will  not  desert." 


250  MARGARITA. 

"  Pardon  me,  that  is  exactly  what  I  will  do,  if  I 
can." 

"1  had  supposed  as  much,"  said  the  Viceroy 
drily.  "  You  will  not  have  the  chance.  Central 
Guatemala  will  offer  you  few  temptations  to  escape, 
but  should  you  attempt  to  do  so,  your  fate  will  be 
that  of  a  common  deserter." 

Margarita  knelt  before  him,  and  his  face  softened 
as  he  raised  her  to  her  feet. 

"  I  hope  better  things  of  you,  Senor,"  he  said,  aa 
he  took  his  leave.  "  Your  wife  goes  with  you.  I 
impose  -on  her  the  duty  of  transforming  you  from 
an  unwilling  captive  to  a  loyal  Spaniard." 

He  took  his  leave  ceremoniously,  and  Don 
Raimon  groaned  aloud.  " It  is  your  nun  fault,"  he 
said,  "  you  might  have  gone  out  of  that  door  a  free 
man,  instead  of  a  prisoner  under  surveillance." 

"You  mistake,"  I  replied  gayly.  "I  am  free, 
free  to  escape,  as  I  never  could  have  been  had  I 
given  my  word  of  honor  to  make  no  such  attempt." 

"Free  to  get  yourself  shot,"  exclaimed  Don 
Raimon.  u  Put  on  your  uniform  at  once,  take  your 
oath  of  allegiance,  and  make  no  more  foolhardy 
speeches,  if  you  do  not  wish  to  lose  every  advantage 
you  have  gained." 

"Father  is  right,"  said  Margarita,  "you  have 
said  enough,  and  have  won  a  great  victory.  You 


A  LONGER  JOURNEY.  251 

need  not  wear  your  uniform  at  present  if  you  do 
not  wish  to  do  so,  for  you  do  not  take  your  oath  of 
allegiance  until  you  reach  Guatemala."  Her  eyes 
were  fixed  upon  me,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  We  are 
watched,  our  every  word  is  heard.  Keep  that  dis- 
consolate look,  but  believe  that  I  have  a  plan  which 
will  succeed,  that  is  enough  for  you  to  know  at 
present." 

"  Pack  your  master's  wardrobe,  and  cord  the  bags 
on  the  mule  at  the  door,"  she  said  to  Jallot ;  and  the 
Viceroy's  secretary,  entering  with  a  Spanish  officer 
who  was  to  be  my  companion,  in  point  of  fact  my 
sentry,  to  Acapulco,  she  introduced  me  blithely  to 
the  latter,  and  took  an  affectionate  but  brave  fare- 
well of  her  father,  who  presented  me  with  a  hand- 
some sum  of  money,  and  returned  to  Presidio  del 
Norte.  A  kinder  gentleman  never  breathed,  and 
I  wrung  his  hand  in  gratitude.  There  were  tears 
in  his  honest  eyes,  and  I  must  own  that  my  own 
spirits  were  not  of  the  highest.  My  moment  of  ex- 
altation had  passed,  and  as  for  ten  days  we  jour- 
neyed further  and  further  from  La  Louisiane,  and  I 
realized  my  helplessness  and  isolation,  a  reaction 
took  place  in  my  feelings.  Margarita's  hopes 
seemed  to  me  the  wildest  chimeras,  and  I  was 
plunged  in  profound  despair. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A    THROW   OF  THE    DICK. 

Turn  Fortune,  turn  thy  wheel, 

With  thy  wild  wheel  we  go  not  op  nor  down. 


OVE    IB    a    game   of 

chance,  they  say,  ami 
be  who  is  lucky  in  that 
hazard  must  expect  ill- 
fortune  in  every  othn- 
The  proverb  lies,  or 
rather  the  fortune  of 
love  is  so  great  that 
given  this  happiness  a 
man,  no  matter  what 
his  fate  in  oth«-r  ven- 
tures may  be,  can  never 
be  truly  reckoned  unlucky.  Such  a  man  am  I. 
There  was  a  time  when  I  cursed  the  ill-fortune 
which  I  met  at  the  hands  of  the  gambler  John 
Law,  which  by  one  throw  of  the  dice  made  me  a 
beggar,  and  drove  me  from  France,  but  from  the 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  253 

moment  that  Margarita  gave  me  her  love  I  knew 
how  with  that  throw,  good  fortune,  the  best  of  all 
good  fortune,  came  to  me  unawares. 

I  have  said  that  Margarita  and  I  attracted  each 
other  by  our  differences.  She  was  serious,  I  was 
gay.  She  was  earnest,  I  light  and  thoughtless.  So 
we  began  our  association,  but  little  by  little  each 
gave  to  the  other  these  characteristics ;  she  grew 
light  of  heart  and  I  grave  of  purpose.  I  believed 
in  myself  because  she  believed  in  me  and  became 
something  like  what  she  thought  me,  and  her  life 
was  happy  because  she  made  mine  nobler. 

I  might  have  been  even  more  unhappy  if  I  had 
known  that  while  I  was  traveling  towards  the 
Pacific  the  exigency  had  arisen  on  the  Mississippi 
which  I  had  so  much  dreaded.  English  Jem  had 
made  an  attempt  to  reach  the  chief  village  of  the 
Natchez  with  a  band  of  Chickasaws,  had  been 
captured  by  our  friends  the  Choctaws  and  taken  to 
New  Orleans. 

Governor  Cadillac  should  have  transferred  him 
to  Bienville  at  Fort  Rosalie,  or  at  least  have 
reported  the  capture  to  him  as  the  head  of  the 
Indian  Department.  But  it  was  not  possible  for 
Cadillac  to  give  up  an  ounce  of  importance. 

The  Chickasaws  were  now  harassing  the  Span- 
iards at  Pensacola,  and  Cadillac  fancied  that  he 


254  MARGARITA. 

had  the  means  of  attaching  Don  Andreas  de  la 
Riola  to  himself  with  ties  of  gratitude,  and  he 
according  delivered  the  Chickasaw  prisoners  and 
Hiems  with  them  to  the  Governor  of  Pensacola. 

Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  told  me  long  after  that 
Don  Andreas  de  la  Riola  sent  his  brother  Fra  Luis 
with  an  escort  to  receive  the  prisoners  and  to  con- 
duct other  negotiations  with  her  father.  Her  old 
teacher  dined  at  their  home,  and  recalled  the  days 
when  he  gave  her  lessons  in  Spanish.  Mademoiselle 
had  not  seen  Hiems,  and  had  no  suspicion  that 
her  father  was  giving  into  Fra  Luis9  keeping  the 
murderer  of  Liotot  and  the  possessor  of  the  genuine 
opal  talisman,  but  she  marked  with  uneasiness  the 
Jesuit's  evident  elation. 

"  You  were  an  apt  pupil,"  Fra  Luis  said  to  her. 
"  I  think  you  learned  more  of  me  than  I  intended 
to  teach  you;  but  perhaps  you  did  not  learn  so 
much  as  you  think.  We  had  a  mutual  friend  too. 
It  I  remember  rightly,  his  name  was  St.  Denis." 

"  Ah,  yes,  Juchereau  de  St.  Denis,"  broke  in 
Governor  Cadillac;  "a  charming  fellow  and  \»  r\ 
clever  in  the  management  of  affairs." 

"  Exactly,"  assented  Fra  Luis ;  "  that  is  precisely 
my  estimate  of  his  ability  and  his  personality.  It  is 
a  great  pity  that  these  engaging  young  men  are  so 
frequently  clever  scoundrels." 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  255 

"  How's  that,  sir  ?  "  demanded  Governor  Cadillac. 
"  The  Chevalier  de  St.  Denis  is  one  of  our  most 
tried  and  trusted  officers." 

"  If  you  have  trusted  him  you  will  do  well  to  try 
him,  provided  you  catch  him,"  the  Jesuit  replied 
with  grim  humor.  "Let  me  give  you  a  friendly 
warning;  he  is  an  officer  in  our  army  and  at 
the  same  time,  in  the  pay  of  Spain  and  of 
France." 

"  Impossible ! "  exclaimed  the  Governor  and 
Mademoiselle  in  one  breath. 

"  I  can  give  you  proof  of  what  I  say.  Has  he 
not  pretended  to  have  taken  from  a  Spanish  mission, 
from  my  mission,  in  fact,  the  great  fire-opal  of  the 
Natchez?" 

"  Whatever  his  pretense  was,  he  made  it  good," 
replied  Governor  Cadillac,  "  by  bringing  back  the 
stone  from  his  last  trip  to  Mexico.  It  was  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  alliance  which  Bienville 
effected  with  that  tribe." 

Fra  Luis  shook  his  head  pityingly.  "  I  thought 
so,"  he  said.  "  The  stone  which  he  has  palmed  off 
upon  the  Natchez  is  a  spurious  one  which  St.  Denis 
had  cut  at  the  time  that  he  was  intimate  with 
the  jeweler  Colin.  I  saw  it  at  his  shop  in  Paris, 
and  know  this  to  be  true." 

"The  true  talisman,   then,"  said  Mademoiselle 


256  MAXGARITA. 

eagerly,  "  was  carried  to  England  by  the  mur- 
derer of  Liotot  the  free  hooter." 

Fra  Luis  hastily  interrupted  her.  "  The  true  talis- 
man was  given  to  me  by  the  murdered  Liotot  as  he 
made  his  dying  confession." 

"Then  you  have  the  means  of  alienating  the 
Natchez  from  us!"  the  Governor  exclaimed  un- 
guardedly. "  I  have  twenty  minds,  Fra  Luis,  to 
hold  you  for  ransom  until  the  opal  is  produced." 

"  You  will  hardly  do  that  at  present,  Governor 
Cadillac,  while  our  respective  countries  are  at 
peace,  and  I  will  remember  that  it  is  a  little 
courtesy  which  you  meditate  and  will  not  accept 
your  hospitality  in  time  of  war.  In  the  meantime 
let  me  advise  yon  to  look  well  to  our  slippery  young 
friend,  St.  Denis." 

"  That  I  will,"  grumbled  Cadillac ;  "  he  ought  by 
this  time  to  have  reached  Natch itoches.  I  will 
order  him  to  report  to  me  at  once." 

Fra  Luis  replied  suavely  and  took  his  leave. 

Mademoiselle  defended  me  to  the  best  of  her 
ability,  but  both  her  father  and  she  were  much  dis- 
turbed. Later,  on  one  of  Bienville's  visits  to  New 
Orleans,  she  discussed  the  matter  with  him ;  but 
even  his  clear  penetration  only  partly  probed  the 
mystery.  He  refused  to  believe  me  guilty  or  that 
the  Natchez  could  be  deceived.  "  They  have  their 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  257 

real  talisman,"  he  asserted.  "If  that  cross-eyed 
villain  Hiems  carried  off  any  stone  to  England  it 
was  the  imitation  one." 

"  Cross-eyed,  cross-eyed,"  echoed  Governor  Cadil- 
lac ;  "  oddly  enough  it  happens  that  the  prisoner 
whom  I  surrendered  to  Fra  Luis  was  cross- 
eyed." 

Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  and  Bienville  ex- 
changed quick  glances  of  intuition. 

"  Then  it  is  from  the  Spanish  and  not  the  Eng- 
lish that  I  must  look  for  interference  with  the 
Natchez,"  said  Bienville. 

I  have  said  that  if  I  had  known  what  was  hap- 
pening in  my  absence  it  would  have  made  me  still 
more  unreconciled  to  my  exile, — and  it  is  quite  true 
that  if  I  had  been  in  New  Orleans  at  the  time  of  Fra 
Luis'  visit,  he  would  never  have  carried  off  English 
Jem ;  but  in  one  way  it  would  have  consoled  me  to 
have  known  the  true  state  of  affairs.  For  now  the 
danger  was  not  so  immediate.  Fra  Luis  could  not 
reach  the  Natchez  so  easily  as  the  English.  Until 
he  was  back  again  at  the  new  mission  on  the  Red 
River,  he  could  not  communicate  with  them,  and 
he  was  not  likely  to  attempt  to  do  so  as  long  as  the 
family  compact  held,  which  Louis  XIV  had 
cemented  by  the  accession  of  his  grandson  to  the 
throne  of  Spain.  But  shortly  after  this  the  Grande 


258  MARGARITA. 

Monarque  died  at  Versailles,  and  as  Louis  XV  was 
but  a  child,  the  reins  of  power  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Regent,  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Philip  V  of 
Spain  had  never  relinquished  his  claim  to  the 
throne  of  France,  and  if  Louis  XV  died  he  proposed 
to  press  it,  but  the  Regent  had  other  plans,  and 
meantime  the  Spanish  and  French  colonies  in 
America  held  their  breath  and  wondered  what 
action  they  would  be  called  upon  to  take  on  ac- 
count of  matters,  in  which,  after  all,  they  had  so 
little  concern. 

Meantime  it  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader,  who 
has  followed  me  thus  far,  to  know  what  were 
Margarita's  plans  for  our  escape.  A  small  trading 
vessel  plied  along  the  Pacific  coast  from  Panama  to 
San  Diego.  Margarita  knew  of  this  and  hud 
counted  on  its  arrival  at  Acapulco  before  the 
frigate  of  war.  She  was  wise  not  to  take  Don 
Raimon  into  her  confidence,  for  he  was  of  too  frank 
a  nature  for  conspiracy,  and  being  fully  convinced 
that  we  were  on  our  way  to  Guatemala  had 
persuaded  the  Viceroy  that  I  had  accepted  the 
situation,  and  we  were  far  beyond  recapture  before 
the  Duke  of  Linares  knew  of  our  escape.  The 
coasting  vessel  landed  us  at  Gayamas,  from  which 
port  Margarita  knew  that  there  was  an  anri<  nt 
Toltec  trail  over  the  mountains  to  the  Rio  Grande 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  259 

valley,  a  trail  utilized,  at  this  time,  by  occasional 
mule  trains. 

At  Gayamas  we  therefore  purchased  mules,  ob- 
tained an  Indian  guide  and  set  out  for  El  Paso  on 
the  Rio  Grande, — it  being  our  intention  to  follow 
up  the  valley  to  Santa  Fe  and  then  strike  across  the 
country  to  the  Arkansas,  hoping  to  find  some 
vestige  of  Le  Sueur's  camp  or  at  least  his  Indians, 
and  so  return  as  I  had  come. 

El  Paso  was  so  near  Presidio  del  Norte  that  it 
showed  great  resolution  on  Margarita's  part  not  to 
return  to  her  home,  but  to  face  again  with  me  the 
long  and  dangerous  journey  to  the  French  settle- 
ments. But  I  was  gradually  becoming  acquainted 
with  my  wife's  fortitude,  and  though  I  told  her  that 
I  could  not  take  the  responsibility  of  begging  her  to 
accompany  me,  I  was  not  surprised  when  she 
assured  me  that  I  was  powerless  to  prevent  her 
doing  so. 

Margarita's  scheme  succeeded  marvelously  until 
we  reached  Fra  Cristobal,  a  Spanish  mission  north 
of  El  Paso.  I  had  made  no  objection  to  assuming 
my  uniform  as  a  disguise,  and  it  had  won  me  con- 
sideration at  every  point.  But  at  the  posada  of 
Fra  Cristobal  I  most  unexpectedly  met  my  old  ac- 
quaintance the  trader,  Juan  1'Archeveque,  who  was 
returning  on  a  second  trip  to  Mexico.  He  had 


260  MARGARITA. 

known  of  my  imprisonment  in  that  city  following 
my  arrest  at  Presidio  del  Norte,  and  was  astonished 
beyond  measure  at  meeting  me  here. 

I  assured  him  of  my  appointment  in  the  Spanish 
army  and  told  him  that  I  was  on  my  way  to  join 
my  regiment  at  Santa  Fe,  but  I  could  plainly  see 
that  he  did  not  believe  me.  He,  however,  parted 
from  us  with  apparent  friendliness,  continuing  his 
southward  journey. 

We  discussed  the  probable  results  of  this  encoun- 
ter, and  decided  that  nothing  could  have  been  more 
unfortunate.  L'Archeveque  would  give  the  news 
at  every  presidio,  and  from  some  point  an  onl.-r 
would  be  returned  for  my  arrest.  There  was  no 
telling  where  it  might  overtake  us;  but  the  Rio 
Grande  valley  would  not  long  be  a  safe  route  for 
us.  We  hastened  our  rate  of  traveling  to  get  as  far 
on  our  way  as  possible  before  turning  into  the 
wilderness,  and  dismissed  immediately  our  Indian 
servants,  that  no  traitor  or  fugitive  should  be 
(i popped  on  the  way  to  give  information  to  pur- 
suers. From  time  to  time  we  gained  all  the  infor- 
mation that  we  could  relative  to  the  Sierra  Oscura, 
a  range  of  mountains  to  the  east  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  hearing  of  a  practicable  pass  not  far  from 
Socorra,  we  turned  straight  to  the  east  after 
leaving  that  settlement,  crossed  the  mountain 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  261 

range,  and  directed  our  course  to  the  Kio 
Pecos. 

We  had  prepared  for  our  journey  as  prudently 
as  possible.  We  were  but  three.  Margarita,  Jal- 
lot,  and  myself,  all  dressed  in  the  costume  of 
Spanish  rancheros,  for  I  had  burned  my  uniform 
and  Margarita  her  woman's  attire  at  our  first  camp- 
fire.  We  each  rode  a  good  horse,  and  Jallot  led  a 
string  of  three  mules  laden  only  with  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  water  kegs. 

About  half-way  between  the  mountains  and  the 
Rio  Pecos  we  suddenly  saw  in  the  distance  the 
walls  of  a  city.  What  was  it,  some  settlement  of 
the  Spaniards  of  which  we  had  no  knowledge,  or 
an  Indian  pueblo  ? 

A  church  reared  its  cross  in  the  centre,  but  no 
smoke  rose  towards  heaven,  no  farmhouses  or  culti- 
vated fields  appeared  in  the  suburbs  ;  and  as  we  ap- 
proached we  saw  no  herds  of  cattle,  or  roads,  or 
other  indication  of  human  habitation.  Was  the 
city  a  mirage  ?  We  rubbed  our  eyes,  but  saw  it 
still  silent  and  mysterious,  but  none  the  less  real. 

Margarita  knew  of  no  inhabited  town  in  this  di- 
rection. "It  must  be  the  ruins  of  a  mission,  de- 
serted at  the  time  of  the  Indian  insurrection  of 
1680,  when  four  hundred  Spaniards  and  twenty-one 
missionaries  were  massacred." 


262  MARGARITA. 

Then  it  came  upon  me  that  this  was  Gran  Quivira, 
of  which  Padre  Nicolas  Freitas  had  spoken.  He 
was  an  aged  man  now,  and  they  thought  his  remi- 
niscences of  his  old  station  the  disordered  imaginings 
of  a  senile  brain.  No  one  believed  that  Gran  Qui- 
vira had  been  as  rich  as  he  maintained  it  had  been 
in  silver  altar  vessels,  and  other  ecclesiastical  prop- 
erty. The  Governor  of  Santa  Fe  had  no  patience 
with  his  reiterated  demands  for  an  escort  of  soldiers 
and  money  to  find  again  his  former  mission.  Even 
Juan  1'Archeveque  had  told  me  that  he  believed  the 
old  priest  half  insane,  for  on  one  occasion  he 
(1'Archeveque)  had  climbed  to  a  point  on  the  Sierra 
rOscura,  where  he  maintained  that  he  could  see  all 
the  eastern  plain,  and  there  was  no  vestige  of  any 
city  in  all  that  desert,  waterless  country. 

But  here  it  was,  gaunt  and  vacant,  plundered, 
and  fire-scarred,  but  still  lifting  its  massive 
walls  to  testify  to  its  former  greatness.  We  wan- 
dered among  the  ruins,  and  camped  that  night 
within  the  church. 

The  cisterns  of  the  pueblo  were  brimming  with 
rain  water,  and  from  them  we  filled  our  casks  and 
watered  our  beasts.  While  exploring  the  streets, 
Jallot  started  a  rabbit,  which  ran  into  a  cavern-like 
opening.  Jallot  followed,  and  fell  into  a  subter- 
ranean chamber.  Lighting  a  torch  I  followed  his 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  263 

cries,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  a  vast  crypt, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  crypt  the  treasure  chamber, 
where  Fra  Nicolas  had  concealed  the  sacred 
utensils.  The  torch-light  flared  on  a  heap  of 
heavy  silver  candlesticks,  ostensoirs,  censers,  cruci- 
fixes, and  the  white  form  of  Christ  upon  the 
cross  stood  out  from  the  blackened  background 
of  an  old  altar-piece  with  ghastly  distinctness. 
There  were  also  quantities  of  embroidered  vest- 
ments and  tapestries  and  other  articles  of  value. 

Jallot  and  I  returned  to  the  upper  air  with  our 
arms  filled  with  treasures.  We  laded  our  mules 
with  as  much  as  we  dared,  but  we  could  not  spare 
any  of  the  precious  provision  for  our  long  journey 
across  the  desert,  and  the  amount  which  we  carried 
away  was  trifling  compared  with  what  we  left. 
We  covered  the  door  of  the  treasure  vault  carefully 
with  d6bris,  but  marked  it  so  that  we  should  know 
it  again,  and  reluctantly  left  this  wealth  to  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  desert. 

We  had  taken  too  much  as  it  was,  and  none  of 
our  booty  was  destined  to  reach  my  chateau  of 
Natchitoches. 

From  le  Gran  Quivira  Fra  Nicolas'  map  proved 
helpful.  We  reached  the  Pecos  Kiver  without 
difficulty,  and  the  ascent  of  its  valley,  pleasantly 
shaded  with  cottonwood-trees,  was  the  most  agree- 


264  MARGARITA. 

able  part  of  our  journey.  When  it  became  noces- 
sary  to  turn  northeastward  and  cross  the  Staked 
Plains,  our  troubles  began.  It  was  early  summer 
—just  fourteen  months  since  I  left  Le  Sucur  on 
the  Arkansas.  Already  the  grass  was  dry  and 
sere,  and  our  poor  animals  found  scanty  sustenance 
in  cropping  the  scorched  herbage.  But  our  great- 
est fear  was  that  our  water  would  give  out  One 
of  the  mules  was  sacrificed  because  we  could  not 
spare  it  drink,  and  in  readjusting  its  load  of  bag- 
gage, the  silver  of  Gran  Quivira  was  considered 
less  valuable  than  the  kegs  of  water,  and  was  1<  ft 
upon  the  pra 

Still  we  struggled  hopefully  forward,  though  the 
distance  to  the  Red  River  seemed  to  lengthen  out 
before  us. 

The  enfeebled  beasts  jogged  wearily,  our  lips 
and  throats  smarted  with  alkali,  we  marched  late 
into  the  night  now,  for  the  heat  of  midday  v. 
the  sun  seemed  to  burn  in  a  heaven  of  blazing 
copper,  necessitated  a  long  siesta.  My  horse  ate 
some  of  the  poisonous  loco-weed,  which  by  a  mira- 
cle of  the  Evil  One,  had  survived,  where  good  pas- 
turage had  perished,  and  went  mad,  running  him- 
self to  death. 

Jallot  surrendered  his  beast  to  me,  and  trudged 
on  bravely,  even  jovially,  leading  the  two  mules  by 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  265 

their  halters.  Twice  we  found  water  holes,  which 
lengthened  the  lives  of  the  animals,  and  Margarita's 
knowledge  of  the  native  plants  of  this  country, 
served  us  in  good  stead,  for  she  pointed  out  the 
bisnaga,  a  cactus  like  an  immense  water  melon, 
which  quenched  our  thirst  and  economized  our 
water  supply.  It  was  when  we  had  nearly  crossed 
the  desert  region  that  our  greatest  danger  loomed 
before  us.  Suddenly  as  though  he  had  dropped 
from  the  sky,  a  mounted  Indian  appeared  to  the 
south  of  us.  He  made  no  reply  to  our  friendly 
signals,  but  rode  along  in  a  parallel  direction  to  our 
own,  keeping  us  in  sight  but  not  approaching. 

That  night  we  watched  by  turn,  fearing  an  at- 
tack, but  in  the  morning  there  was  no  horseman  in 
sight,  and  we  congratulated  ourselves  that  he  was 
a  solitary  hunter,  who  had  given  up  following  us, 
knowing  that  we  outmatched  him.  We  were 
speedily  undeceived.  That  afternoon,  Margarita  de- 
scried two  specks  on  the  horizon,  which  presently 
developed  into  two  Pawnees,  who  tracked  us  in  the 
same  persistent  fashion.  Towards  evening  they 
rode  back,  disappearing  as  the  first  had  done.  We 
strained  our  eyes,  and  afar  ahead  we  could  see  a 
green  ribbon  which  marked  a  tributary  stream  of 
the  Red  River.  If  we  could  have  traveled  all 
night  we  might  have  gained  it,  but  our  animals 


266  MARGARITA. 

were  spent.  We  must  rest  on  their  account  as  well 
as  our  own,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
camp.  We  made  no  fire,  however,  and  hardly 
slept.  When  the  sun  rose  we  were  startled  to  see 
five  Indians  quite  near.  They  remained  motionless, 
watching  us  until  we  resumed  our  march,  when 
three  dropped  behind,  while  two  rode  abreast  at  a 
little  distance  on  our  right  as  on  the  previous  day. 

Presently  J allot  called  my  attention  to  the  fact 
that  two  of  the  three  warriors  in  our  rear  were 
coming  up  on  our  left,  and  in  this  way  they  escorted 
us  all  that  day. 

"  I  do  not  like  that  maneuvre,"  said  Margarita. 
"  They  are  trying  to  get  between  us  and  the  little 
creek,  to  cut  us  off  from  water.  We  must  make  a 
spurt  and  gain  it  first."  One  mule  which  had  gone 
lame  was  abandoned  with  its  lading,  J  allot  mounted 
the  other,  and  we  pressed  our  beasts  cruelly. 
When  we  saw  that  we  were  likely  to  win  the  race 
and  reach  the  creek,  we  let  the  last  water  keg  roll 
to  the  ground.  Inspecting  the  lading  of  our  mule 
had  delayed  the  Indians,  but  they  charged  down 
upon  us  now,  firing  their  arrows  as  they  rode 
swiftly  by.  Fortunately  we  had  two  or  three 
minutes  in  which  to  prepare.  Our  horses  furnished 
a  breastwork  for  Jallot  and  me,  while  I  commanded 
Margarita  to  cower  under  the  bank  of  the  creek, 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  267 

where  she  loaded  the  firearms  and  handed  them  to 
us.  Their  arrows  struck  our  horses,  killing  one,  and 
making  it  necessary  for  us  to  kill  the  other,  but  I 
brought  down  one  of  the  braves,  and  Jallot  killed 
the  pony  of  the  second,  giving  him  a  fall,  so  that 
he  ran  away  rubbing  his  shoulder.  The  others 
picked  up  the  first  man,  but  we  could  see  that  he 
was  quite  dead.  They  caught  the  horse  of  the 
dead  man,  mounted  the  Indian  whose  pony  had 
been  shot,  and  retired  for  consultation.  We,  too, 
held  an  anxious  council.  Night  was  approaching. 
There  was  a  fringe  of  willows  and  bushes  on 
each  side  of  the  creek.  We  determined  to  re- 
main where  we  were  until  dark,  then  cross  to 
the  opposite  side,  and  continue  our  journey  on  the 
open  ground  beyond  the  screen  of  trees.  We  were 
all  thoroughly  wet  in  the  crossing,  but  managed  to 
keep  our  powder  dry.  Beside  our  guns  and  ammu- 
nition we  carried  only  a  quantity  of  biscuit,  and  so 
fled  all  night,  knowing  that  the  Indians  would  not 
track  us  until  the  morning  At  daybreak  we 
reached  rising  ground  and  saw  the  Red  River  near 
at  hand.  If  we  but  had  a  canoe  we  would  have 
been  soon  out  of  harm's  reach ;  but  we  could  only 
drag  ourselves  to  the  river  bank  and  hide  exhausted 
in  the  bushes,  where  we  could  peer  out  unseen.  I 
realized  all  the  time  what  a  futile  precaution  this 


268  MARGARITA. 

was,  for  our  trail  would  be  as  easily  read  by  the 
Pawnees  as  though  the  ground  had  been  covered 
with  snow. 

It  was  not  until  afternoon  that  our  pursuers 
came  in  sight.  They  had  not  ventured  to  penetrate 
the  underbrush  near  the  creek  until  convinced  after 
many  showers  of  arrows,  that  we  had  either  fled, 
or  were  no  longer  alive.  Then  they  had  paused  to 
gamble  and  quarrel  over  our  belongings,  and  after 
that  were  obliged  to  lose  considerable  time  in  find- 
ing a  fording  place. 

Though  they  were  now  plainly  visible  to  us,  and 
they  had  at  last  found  the  trail,  they  were  in  doubt 
whether  we  had  followed  down  the  river  or  were 
lying  in  ambush  in  the  bushes,  and  their  native 
caution  kept  them  from  approaching  within  gun- 
shot of  our  hiding-place.  They  discharged  their 
arrows  in  our  direction,  but  they  fell  a  little  short, 
and  we  were  prudent  enough  not  to  betray  our 
whereabouts  by  replying.  They  rode  up  and  down 
attempting  to  obtain  some  glimpse  of  us,  and  re- 
turned irresolutely  to  the  trail.  If  they  had 
charged  boldly  into  the  underbrush,  they  would 
have  annihilated  us,  but  they  had  tried  one  such 
assault  and  were  wary.  Finally  one  of  their  num- 
ber disappeared  behind  the  hillock  and  the  others 
hobbled  their  horses  and  lighted  a  camp-fire. 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  269 

"  They  have  sent  for  reinforcements,"  said  Mar- 
garita. "We  have  a  little  respite,  then  death." 

"  We  might  construct  a  raft,"  suggested  Jallot, 
"  and  so  get  away." 

"You  can  see  for  yourself  there  are  no  trees 
large  enough,  and  we  have  no  axes,"  I  replied,  "  be- 
sides the  Indians  have  a  better  view  of  the  river 
than  we." 

"  Let  us  wait  until  dark  and  then  swim  for  it." 

"  I  cannot  swim,"  said  Margarita. 

"  In  that  case  let  us  have  supper,"  said  Jallot, 
and  he  spread  the  biscuit  before  us,  bringing  water 
from  the  river  in  his  gourd-bottle.  He  joked  even 
then,  lamenting  that  he  had  no  hook  or  line,  else 
we  might  have  had  fish,  and  finding  a  few  berries 
served  them  to  Margarita  in  a  leaf. 

"  Now  sleep,  beloved,"  I  said  to  her.  "  I  will 
watch  and  waken  you  if  you  can  help." 

"  And  if  the  worst  comes,"  she  said,  "  there  is 
my  stilletto;  you  will  not  let  them  capture  me 
alive?" 

"  No,  love,"  I  promised,  and  held  her  close.  She 
murmured  a  little  prayer,  "  Noctem  quietam  con- 
cede Domine,"  and  slept  all  night,  a  sleep  of  utter 
physical  exhaustion,  and  of  a  soul  at  peace,  for 
whom  death  has  no  bitterness.  Jallot  and  I  took 
turns  in  watching,  but  we  slept  little.  The  night 


270  MARUMUTA. 

was  dark,  but  the  camp-fire  of  the  Indians  glowed. 
We  could  smell  the  roasting  horse-flesh,  and  could 
see  their  dark  forms  as  they  moved  about. 

"  If  they  would  only  compose  themselves  to 
sleep,"  said  Jallot,  "  we  might  steal  up  and  kill 
them." 

"  That  is  not  so  bad  an  idea,"  I  replied  ;  but  they 
did  not  sleep.  I  noticed  their  numbers  kept  in- 
creasing, ten,  fifteen,  I  counted  silhouetted  against 
the  glow  of  the  fire.  The  reinforcements  were  ar- 
riving; they  would  attack  at  sunrise. 

Morning  came  and  they  mounted,  but,  wonder  of 
wonders,  rode  quickly  away. 

"  What  does  that  mean  ?  "  asked  Jallot.  "  Is  it 
that  they  have  pressing  business  in  another  direc- 
tion ?  " 

"No  such  good  luck,"  I  answered.  4'  It  is  a 
rose  doubtless  to  make  us  show  ourselves.  See, 
they  have  left  meat  beside  the  smouldering  fire. 
They  hope  that  hunger  will  draw  us  from  hiding. 
They  are  not  far  away,  and  if  they  saw  smoke 
rising,  would  hasten  back." 

"  Listen !  listen  !  "  exclaimed  Margarita.  "  I  hear 
the  splash  of  paddles.  Their  reinforcements  are 
coming  by  way  of  the  river." 

Jallot  descended  the  bank  and  returned  white  aa 
a  ghost.  "  It  is  only  too  true  ;  there  are  two  great 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  271 

pirogues  coming  up  the  river.  They  saw  me  too. 
We  are  hemmed  in  on  both  sides.  There,  listen  to 
that!" 

A  rifle  shot  rang  on  the  air.  "Where  is  the 
knife  ?  Quick,  kill  me,"  begged  Margarita.  "  No  ? 
Then,  I  will  do  it  myself." 

She  had  caught  the  handle,  but  I  held  her  arm. 
"  Wait,"  I  implored.  "  Is  that  music,  or  am  I  going 
mad  ?  " 

"  It  is  Picard's  fiddle,"  yelled  Jallot,  "  and  he  is 
playing  Le  Carillon  de  Dunkerque." 

In  answer  to  his  cry,  shouts  arose  from  the  river, 
and  my  old  companions  of  Natchitoches  came 
crashing  through  the  thicket,  huzzaing,  laughing, 
screeching  with  joy  like  the  very  savages  we 
thought  them.  It  was  a  relief  expedition  that  had 
come  up  the  river  in  search  of  us.  The  honest  fel- 
lows wept  for  happiness,  kissed  Margarita's  hands 
and  tattered  clothing,  and  then  capered  and  danced 
and  fired  their  guns  into  the  air. 

Picard  played  more  madly  than  we  had  ever 
heard  him,  improvisations  which  would  have  im- 
mortalized him  if  he  could  have  set  them  down  in 
cold  blood — which  he  never  could.  It  was  well  for 
the  Indians  that  they  had  been  frightened  by  the 
approach  of  the  French,  for  had  my  brave 
coureurs  de  bois  fallen  upon  them  in  their  first 


-7:>  .17. 1  AV/J  A'/y.l. 

wild   delirium   they  would  have  annihiliated   the 
entire  tribe. 

Glad  as  I  was  to  find  myself  among  my  brave 
clansmen  and  soon  after  in  my  good  ch&teau  of 
Natchitoches,  I  made  but  short  tarrying,  hurrying 
down  the  river  to  consult  with  Bienville.  And 
this  time  I  did  not  leave  Margarita  behind  me, 
"Please  God  I  will  never  do  so  again,9'  I  prom- 
ised, "  till  I  start  on  my  last  journey.  Henceforth 
we  are  inseparable." 

I  was  much  surprised  by  Governor  Cadillac's 
greeting  on  my  arrival  which  was  to  throw  me  into 
prison,  but  I  despatched  J allot  to  Fort  Rosalie  for 
Bienville.  He  came  at  once  and  in  the  meantime 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  ministered  to  my  wife, 
and  calling  upon  me,  explained  the  Governor's  hasty 
action  by  informing  me  of  the  charges  made 
against  me  by  Fra  Luis.  Bienvillr  insisted  that 
these  charges  were  manifest  slanders  and  that  no 
attention  should  be  paid  to  them.  Cadillac  on  the 
contrary  demanded  that  I  should  be  tried  by  court 
martial.  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac,  as  was  usual  in 
their  differences,  suggested  the  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty. It  would  be  impossible  to  secure  witnesses 
for  a  regular  trial,  therefore  why  not  listen  to  my 
own  statemo! 

I   was    accordingly  examined   before  the  Gov 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  273 

ernor  and  Bienville.  The  latter  controlled  him- 
self admirably  for  a  long  time,  allowing  Cadillac 
to  conduct  the  matter  entirely  in  his  own  way,  and 
as  I  had  the  sense  to  humor  his  love  of  importance 
by  adopting  a  respectful  attitude,  he  gave  me  a 
hearing,  and  becoming  convinced  that  I  had  been 
maligned,  declared  me  not  only  cleared  but  vindi- 
cated without  asking  Bienville's  opinion.  He  had 
a  most  provoking  habit  of  never  listening  to  argu- 
ment, and  on  giving  his  dictum,  invariably  flounced 
out  of  the  room,  so  making  it  impossible  for  any 
one  to  object.  On  this  occasion,  however,  he  un- 
fortunately returned.  I  had  just  admitted  that  I 
could  not  be  certain  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the 
opal  without  seeing  the  two  together,  and  Bienville 
remarked  sarcastically  that  Governor  Cadillac 
would  doubtless  consider  it  necessary  to  serve  a 
summons  upon  James  Hiems  to  bring  his  gem  into 
court  for  inspection. 

It  was  at  this  point  that  the  Governor  inoppor- 
tunely reappeared,  and  perceiving  that  his  love  of 
detail  and  red  tape  was  being  made  sport  of,  upset 
all  my  hopes  by  revoking  his  former  decision  and 
remanding  me  to  prison  until  other  evidence  could 
be  obtained. 

"  I  shall  report  all  this  to  Monsieur  Crozat,"  he 
added,  "  who  is  not  likely  to  be  satisfied  with  the 


274  MARGARITA. 

result  of  your  efforts  to  secure  commercial  relations 
with  Mexico." 

Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  was  extremely  indig- 
nant with  this  outcome  of  the  examination,  and 
urged  me  to  make  a  memorial  in  writing  of  my  de- 
fense, and  to  send  it  to  Monsieur  Crozat.  I  wrote 
the  justification,  but  on  reflection  laid  it  aside.  Of 
what  use  could  it  be?  Little  they  cared  in  France 
how  affairs  were  managed  or  mismanaged  in  the 
colonies. 

I  said  so  to  Mademoiselle.  "  But  surely,"  she  re- 
plied, "a  man  should  insist  on  having  such  a  charge 
removed,  and  justice,  though  slow,  will  vindicate  the 
innocent ." 

"How  was  it  with  Bienville  himself?"  I  de- 
manded. "  While  he  was  acting  as  head  of  the 
colony  after  the  death  of  d'lberville,  the  intendant 
preferred  malicious  and  lying  charges,  that  Bien- 
ville bad  appropriated  the  funds,  and  Diron  d'Ar- 
taguette  was  sent  out  by  Pontchartrain,  with  a 
letter  of  cachet  and  orders  that  if  on  investigation 
Bienville  appeared  to  be  guilty,  he  was  to  be  sent  to 
the  Bastille  in  chains.  D'Artaguette  found  instead 
that  Bienville  had  done  everything  that  mortal 
man  could  do.  The  funds  had  simply  not  been 
sent.  They  were  traced  by  Pontchartrain,  and 
Bienville  was  vindicated.  But  what  good  did  that 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  275 

do  ?  In  his  report  d'Artaguette  showed  plainly 
that  Bienville  was  the  one  man  fitted  to  be  Gover- 
nor of  Louisiana,  and  recommended  his  appoint- 
ment to  succeed  his  brother.  Instead  Monsieur, 
your  father,  is  here  ;  you  see  with  what  result  1 " 

"  Yes,"  Mademoiselle  replied,  "  I  see,  I  compre- 
hend. It  is  all  a  mistake,  but  it  is  not  too  late  to 
rectify  it.  Lend  me  the  justification  which  you 
have  written  out.  I  would  like  to  read  it  carefully, 
and  promise  to  make  no  wrong  use  of  it." 

I  thought  she  intended  to  lay  it  before  her  father 
at  some  auspicious  moment,  and  I  persuaded  Bien- 
ville not  to  make  any  report  of  the  affair,  but  to 
wait. 

I  could  see  that  his  love  for  Mademoiselle  de 
Cadillac  was  a  blessing  to  him,  though  it  brought 
him  much  trial,  unutterable  longing  and  weary 
years  of  hope  deferred,  all  of  which  he  met  with  the 
same  steadfast  constancy  and  great  patience.  He 
was  continually  in  the  midst  of  care,  perplexity  and 
worry,  all  through  the  interference,  the  mistakes 
and  the  domineering,  unreasoning  obstinacy  of 
Monsieur  de  Cadillac.  I  was  fortunate  in  loving 
Margarita's  parents  and  in  being  beloved  by 
them  in  spite  of  our  national  differences.  When 
Don  Eaimon  learned  through  Juan  PArcheveque  of 
my  escape,  he  was  glad,  though  anxious  for  our 


276  MARGARITA. 

safety,  and  when  at  last  he  learned  that  we  had 
reached  New  Orleans,  he  wrote  me  that  he  and  the 
Senora  had  burned  many  candles  before  our  Lady 
of  Guadalupe,  the  patroness  of  fugitive  prisoners. 

But  if  Governor  Cadillac  had  been  my  father  in 
law  I  think  I  would  have  killed  him.  To  Bienvillo 
he  was  most  irritating  and  uncongenial,  and  Mad- 
emoiselle had  the  unbappiness  of  seeing  that  while 
Bienville  bore  with  her  father  for  her  sake  it  was  a 
penance  that  was  well-nigh  insupportable,  since  it 
involved  the  thwarting  of  his  plans  for  the  good  of 
the  colony. 

Cadillac  had  refused  his  consent  to  their  marriage 
and  they  had  submitted  to  its  indefinite  postpone- 
ment, hoping  that  in  time  he  would  see  the  matter 
as  they  did. 

Bienville  had  told  her  Weenonah's  story ;  they  had 
accepted  its  test  and  had  learned  that  "  Those  who 
love  can  wait."  Patience  was  having  its  perfect 
work  with  both,  for  they  waited  without  wearing 
th'-ir  hearts  out  with  impotent  rebellion ;  but  Bien- 
ville had  come  to  see  that  their  trial  must  be  a  long 
one,  for  it  became  evident  that  Monsieur  de  Cadil- 
lac would  never  give  up  his  opposition,  and  that 
his  daughter's  sense  of  duty  was  such  that  she 
would  not  leave  him  while  he  lived.  Even  so, 
Bienville  did  not  give  up  hope,  but  looked  forward 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  277 

to  happiness  in  the  autumn  of  their  lives.  I  do  not 
think  that  Mademoiselle  had  as  much  hope  as  he, 
but  she  had  more  satisfaction  in  the  present.  It 
was  bliss  enough  for  her  to  know  that  Bienville 
loved  her,  to  look  across  the  room  at  his  steady 
eyes,  devouring,  adoring  her.  She  would  glance 
at  him  the  least  flicker  of  a  smile,  or  a  little  nod, 
which  said,  "Yes,  I  know,"  or  more  often  would 
simply  meet  his  gaze  frankly,  with  calm  content. 
It  was  more  like  the  placid  pride  of  those  happily 
wedded  than  the  passionate  impatience  of  betrothed 
lovers. 

It  was  Margarita  who  told  me  this,  for  she  was 
often  with  Mademoiselle  during  my  imprisonment ; 
but  I  saw  it  for  myself  later  on.  In  process  of 
time  an  order  came  from  the  Ministry  of  the  Marine 
to  the  Governor,  to  turn  me  over  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  Bienville,  and  not  in  future  to  interfere  with  his 
department. 

Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  had  herself  forwarded 
to  Pontchartrain  the  remonstrance  which  I  had 
written  but  had  decided  not  to  send. 

When  I  reproached  her  with  this,  representing 
that  the  exposition  of  her  father's  temper  might 
result  in  his  recall,  she  admitted  that  she  had 
realized  this  possibility. 

"  Bienville's  work  here  is  more  important  than 


278  MAB0ABITA. 

the  comfort  which  we  take  in  each  other's  society," 
she  said.  "  It  may  be  that  I  can  aid  that  work  more 
in  France  than  here.  It  is  certain  that  he  will  be 
less  hampered  if  my  father  is  removed.  It  is 
a  poor  love  that  cannot  bear  separation  when  it 
is  for  the  advantage  of  the  beloved.  I  shall  not 
feel  it  greatly,  for  what  does  it  matter  if  we  are 
separated  for  a  little  time?  Our  love  is  great 
enough  to  bear  it,  and  there  are  some  persons  who 
are  so  united  in  soul  that  no  distance  can  really 
separate  them." 

Margarita  and  I  avowed  to  each  other  that  we 
were  not  constructed  on  so  high  a  plane,  and  could 
not  quite  understand  her  feeling  ;  but  her  sincerity 
was  beyond  question,  and,  as  I  told  my  wife,  love 
has  many  different  manifestations,  all  good  in  t 
way,  and  suited  to  different  natures.  The  one 
great  mystery  which  has  more  convinced  me  of  the 
presence  of  an  overruling  Providence  in  the  affaire 
of  men  than  all  the  sermons  I  have  ever  heard — is 
how  love  finds  its  own  in  this  wide  world. 

For  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  would  never  have 
suited  me,  nor  could  my  Margarita  appreciate  that 
Bienville's  noble  nature  was  superior  to  my  frivo- 
lous one.  The  apparent  chance  by  which  matches 
are  made  would  seem  to  argue  that  they  are  mere 
throws  of  the  dice ;  but  it  is  my  opinion  that  the 


A   THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  279 

dice  of  fate  are  beneficently  loaded,  and  what  seems 
chance  is  most  blessedly  fore-ordered  without  possi- 
bility of  miscarriage. 

And  speaking  of  loaded  dice  brings  me  to  an 
incident,  which  also  had  its  bearings  on  my  past 
and  future  fortunes.  Shortly  after  my  release  I 
made  with  Margarita  a  call  of  acknowledgment 
upon  Governor  Cadillac,  for  I  wished  to  show  that 
I  bore  him  no  grudge,  and  to  imply  that  I  fancied 
he  had  made  this  reparation  of  his  own  free  will. 
As  conversation  was  a  trifle  strained,  Mademoiselle 
set  out  the  card  table,  inviting  me  to  be  her  partner. 
I  accepted,  for  the  play  was  not  for  money,  ex- 
plaining that  I  had  not  touched  cards  or  dice  since  my 
disastrous  play  at  the  chateau  of  the  Prince  de  Conti. 

11  It  was  possibly  on  this  very  table,"  said  Mad- 
emoiselle, "  that  your  game  took  place,  for  the  Prin- 
cess of  Conti  made  me  a  present  of  it  when  we 
sailed  from  France,  together  with  the  hanpsichord 
and  embroidery  frame,  in  short  all  of  the  furniture 
of  her  petit  salon,  giving,  as  a  reason,  that  she 
wished  me  to  be  reminded  in  my  new  home  of  the 
many  happy  days  that  we  had  spent  together,  in 
that  room." 

"  Stuff,  stuff,"  grunted  the  Governor ;  "  it  is  more 
like  that  the  Princess  was  tired  of  her  rnobilier  and 
wished  some  new  furniture." 


280  MARGARITA. 

"  I    cannot    think     the    Princess   had    such    a 
thought,"  Mademoiselle  exclaimed.     "  See  what  a 
beautiful  object  this  table  is, — ormolu,  with  an  in- 
laid top,  and  the  interior  is  as  perfect,  a  real  jewel 
box." 

"  I  remember  it  perfectly,"  I  said,  as  Mademoi- 
selle opened  a  drawer ;  "  and  there  are  the  very 
carved  dice  boxes  with  one  of  which  I  made  my 
six  fatal  casts,  any  one  of  which  might  have  saved 
me  from  beggary. 

"  John  Law  had  given  me  six  throws  in  which  to 
gain  a  double  six,  and  had  bet  twice  the  sum  I  had 
at  stake,  that  it  would  not  come  up.  The  chances 
were  all  in  my  favor  hut  the  double  six  did  not  ap- 
pear, and  I  had  staked  all  I  had." 

"  Not  get  double  sixes  in  six  chances !  Prepos- 
terous," asserted  the  Governor.  "  I  engage  that  I 
throw  at  least  two  doublets  out  of  six  trials."  II" 
took  up  a  dice  box  but  complained  that  it  contained 
but  one  die.  Almost  at  the  same  moment  I  discov- 
ered another  in  a  nut-shell  in  one  corner  of  the 
drawer.  It  gave  me  a  turn,  for  I  remembered  dis- 
tinctly that  while  playing  with  John  Law  he  was  un- 
concernedly cracking  and  eating  nuts.  I  had  thrown 
down  my  dice  box,  sat  and  stared  at  him  after  I 
lost,  wondering  whether  the  knowledge  that  he  had 
won  my  last  penny,  gave  them  a  sweeter  flavor. 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  281 

He  saw  me  watching  him,  and  swept  them  from  the 
table  with  an  impatient  movement.  They  must 
have  lodged  in  the  open  drawer,  and  these  were  the 
very  dice  with  which  I  had  lost. 

"  Try  this,  sir,"  I  said,  trembling  with  excitement. 

The  Governor  threw  six,  ten,  twenty  times,  but  no 
double  six  came  at  his  call.  Instead,  the  deuce 
showed  itself  on  one  of  the  dice  with  surprising 
persistency.  Kemarking  this,  at  length,  the  Gov- 
ernor cried  out  that  it  was  loaded,  and  a  little 
scraping  with  a  penknife  on  the  reverse  of  the  die 
brought  out  a  small  shot  which  had  been  imbedded 
in  one  of  the  black  dots.  Two  more  dots  showed 
similar  plugs.  It  was  evident  that  six  could  not 
possibly  come  uppermost  with  that  particular  cube. 

There  was  no  positive  proof  in  this  circumstantial 
evidence,  that  John  Law  had  won  my  money  by 
craftily  arranging  that  I  should  play  with  dice,  one 
of  which  he  had  loaded,  but  I  was  certain  that  this 
was  the  case.  With  assumed  carelessness,  he  had 
afterwards  hidden  the  die  in  the  nut  shell.  Possibly 
in  his  slight  embarrassment,  fancying  that  I  was 
watching  him,  he  had  put  into  his  pocket  an  empty 
shell,  and  it  was  very  probable  that  he  did  not  dis- 
cover his  mistake,  or  believed  that  the  servants  had 
swept  the  shells  out  and  that  his  fraud  would  never 
be  discovered. 


282  MARGARITA. 

This  was  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac's  opinion 
also. 

"Give  me  the  nut  shell  and  the  die,"  she  said, 
"and  when  I  return  to  France  I  will  force  John 
Law  to  make  you  ample  reparation." 

"  When  you  return  to  France,  Rosalie ! "  said  her 
father.  "  I  did  not  know  that  you  meditated  ta- 
king the  voyage." 

"  Your  appointment  is  not  for  life,"  she  replied  ; 
"and  one  never  knows  what  may  happen." 

Mademoiselle  knew  better  than  appeared,  for  not 
long  after  this  a  ship  of  the  line  appeared,  bearing 
orders  to  Bienville  from  Pontcbartrain,  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  colony,  as  Governor  Cadillac  had  been 
retired  from  office. 

He  had  brought  his  disgrace  upon  himself  by  in- 
capacity and  by  incessant  complaint,  but  he  left 
highly  incensed  with  Bienville,  whom  he  unjustly 
believed  had  intrigued  to  supplant  him.  For  his 
daughter's  sake,  Bienville  would  gladly  have  left, 
the  command,  or  have  continued  with  the  tenfold 
more  difficult  course  of  sharing  it  with  him,  but  the 
matter  was  beyond  bis  control.  The  young  man's 
heart  was  bursting  with  anguish,  and  he  made  one 
wild  appeal  to  bis  betrothed  for  their  immediate 
marriage.  Her  only  reply  was :  "  He  is  an  old 
man,  and  he  has  only  me." 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  283 

What  else  had  her  lover  ?  And  Cadillac  was  not 
so  very  old,  more  the  pity,  I  thought.  But  it  was 
enough  for  Bienville  to  know  that  Mademoiselle 
wished  it.  He  had  a  reason  of  his  own  for  letting 
her  go.  He  knew  that  sooner  or  later  we  would 
have  fighting,  and  the  thought  that  she  would  not 
be  exposed  to  the  horrors  of  war,  rendered  the  bit- 
terness of  parting  endurable.  He  said  nothing  of 
this  to  her,  and  she  kept  back  from  him  her  inten- 
tion to  work  for  his  interest  in  France.  So  these 
two  had  their  secrets  from  each  other,  secrets  dic- 
tated by  love,  but  which  proved,  so  Margarita  and  I 
thought,  that  they  were  not  one  as  we  were. 

When  Bienville  warned  us  of  the  approaching 
war-cloud  and  suggested  that  Margarita  should  re- 
turn to  France  with  the  Cadillacs,  passing  on  if  she 
chose  to  her  grandparents  in  old  Spain,  we  ex- 
claimed simultaneously  against  such  a  proposition. 

"  I  think  Margarita  would  rather  stay  with  me 
than  be  a  widow  in  Spain,"  I  said. 

"  Assuredly,"  she  replied.  "I  was  almost  sorry 
when  rescue  came  to  us  there  in  the  bushes,  for  I 
said  to  myself, — '  Then  we  will  never  again  have  so 
good  a  chance  of  taking  the  long  journey  to- 
gether!'" 

"  If  it  were  only  death ! "  said  Bienville,  "  but 
there  may  be  much  agony  to  be  lived  through." 


284  MARGARITA. 

For  answer  she  placed  her  hand  in  mine,  and 
Bienville  found  that  argument  unanswerable. 

The  ship  which  bore  the  Cadillacs  away  had 
brought  him  the  long  desired  cross  of  the  order  of 
St.  Louis,  and  Mademoiselle  pinned  it  upon  his 
breast  when  she  bade  him  farewell. 

Mademoiselle  was  right ;  her  return  and  that  of 
her  father  had  much  to  do  with  Bienvillo's  later 
success  and  the  bettering  of  my  own  ten  tune. 

Bienville  read  me  a  portion  of  her  first  letter. 
She  had  been  received  with  enthusiasm  by  her  old 
friend,  the  Princess  of  (Jonti,  who,  though  a  widow, 
had  not  retired  from  the  world,  but  had  taken  her 
to  one  of  the  brilliant  receptions  given  by  the 
Regent  at  his  chateau  of  St.  Cloud. 

"  If  you  thought  the  life  of  Cbantilly  too  reckless 
in  its  amusements,"  she  wrote,  "I  know  not  what 
you  would  say  to  the  train  which  the  Regent  car- 
ries on  here.  I  shall  never  go  there  again,  !'••!•  m.t 
only  is  the  play  high,  but  persons  of  notorious 
character  are  admitted  and  madr  much  of  i>y  the 
Duke.  Only  fancy  his  prime  favorite  is  the  gam- 
bler, John  Law !  He  had  the  effrontery  to  recall 
himself  to  me,  and  as  the  Princess  of  Conti  received 
him  graciously  and  I  had  a  little  motive  in  view,  I 
did  not  affect  not  to  recognize  him,  as  I  was  sorely 
tempted  to  do. 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  285 

"  The  Princess  accepted  his  invitation  to  be  his 
partner  at  a  game  of  goose.  He  threw  for  her  and 
had  phenomenal  luck,  though  every  one  said  it  was 
only  his  usual  fortune.  There  were  comfits  and 
other  refreshments  on  the  buffet,  and  I  speedily 
possessed  myself  of  a  dish  of  nuts  and  passed  them 
to  the  players. 

"  *  Do  not  interrupt  our  game,  Rosalie,'  said  the 
Princess ;  whereupon  I  ventured,  *  But  Monsieur 
Law  always  plays  more  successfully  if  he  trifles  at 
the  same  time  with  nuts.  I  remember  it  was  a 
habit  of  his  at  Chantilly.' 

"He  turned  at  me  sharply.  'What  were  you 
saying?'  he  asked. 

"  My  heart  beat  like  a  trip-hammer.  *  Only  that 
the  night  you  won  Monsieur  Juchereau  de  St. 
Denis'  last  sou,  you  found  a  little  refreshment  of 
this  kind  no  detriment  to  your  game.' 

"He  cracked  one  of  the  filberts  between  his 
fingers,  but  I  thought  that  he  looked  at  the  kernel 
suspiciously  before  he  ate  it. 

" '  These  nuts  are  not  so  hard  as  those  you  served 
us  at  Chantilly,  Madame,'  I  said  to  the  Princess, 
keeping  the  tail  of  my  eye  on  my  fine  gentleman. 
*  Would  you  believe  it,  I  found  one  not  long  since  in 
the  drawer  of  the  card  table,  which  you  gave  me, 
whose  kernel  was  absolutely  inedible.  I  should  as 


286  MARGARITA. 

soon  have  thought  of  eating  one  of  those  dice  or 
even  leaden  shot.' 

"That  thrust  went  home.  He  flushed  crimson 
and  then  paled. 

" '  I'm  hanged  if  I  can  make  out  what  you  are 
talking  about,'  said  the  Regent,  who  was  standing 
near. 

"'Mademoiselle's  riddles  are  harder  to  crack 
than  these  nuts,'  said  Law,  recovering  his  bravado. 

"  *  I  will  give  you  an  easy  one,'  I  said,  growing 
more  daring.  'When  are  dice  like  bluiult  r 
basses?' 

"  *  When  they  are  loaded,  of  course,'  replied  the 
Regent.  '  That  is  self-evident/ 

"'And  yet  Monsieur  Law  calls  my  riddles  dif- 
ficult to  guess,'  I  taunted. 

"  '  Mademoiselle  should  remember,'  he  said  mean- 
ingly, '  that  riddles,  as  well  as  blunderbusses,  may 
be  as  dangerous  to  young  ladies  who  attempt  to 
fire  them,  as  to  those  at  whom  they  are  aimed.9 

"  'What  have  I  said,  Monsieur?'  I  asked,  affect- 
ing the  ingenue,  and  he  returned  to  his  play  with 
out  replying,  but  so  manifestly  disturbed  that  be 
lost  every  throw  for  the  remainder  of  the  game. 
After  it  was  over  he  sat  down  by  my  father  and 
made  him  talk  about  Louisiana.  You  can  guess 
what  a  miserable  country  he  made  it  out  to  be. 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  287 

'  And  yet  it  seeins  to  me,'  said  Law,  *  that  there  is 
an  opportunity  there  for  some  one  with  a  head  for 
affairs  to  make  money.' 

" '  Ask  Crozat,'  said  my  father ;  <  he  will  tell  you 
that  he  is  sick  of  his  bargain ;  he  has  nearly  made 
himself  a  bankrupt  by  the  investments  which  he 
has  made  for  that  God-forsaken  country.' 

"  They  talked  for  a  long  time,  and  when,  finally, 
my  father  left  him  for  the  supper,  Law  turned  to 
me  and  asked,  '  And  have  you  the  same  opinion  of 
Louisiana  as  your  father  ? ' 

" '  On  the  contrary,1 1  replied,  '  I  agree  with  you, 
that  under  wiser  management  it  contains  all  the 
elements  of  success.' 

"  His  eyes  twinkled  and  I  wondered  what  amused 
him.  'It  is  usual  for  a  daughter  to  believe  her 
father  infallible,'  he  said.  '  It  struck  me  just  now 
that  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis  had  found  a  warm 
advocate  in  Mademoiselle.  How  think  you,  would 
Louisiana  prosper  under  his  governance  ? ' 

"It  was  my  turn  to  be  embarrassed,  for  I  per- 
ceived that  he  misunderstood  my  interest  and 
thought  that  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis  was  my  lover. 
*  Monsieur  is  a  poor  guesser  of  riddles,'  I  stam- 
mered, and  recognizing  Diron  d'Artaguette  across 
the  room,  I  added  hastily,  'there  is  a  gentleman 
who  went  out  to  Louisiana  to  investigate  affairs 


288  J/J /;</.!/;/. 

and  can  give  you  a  more  reliable  report  than  my 
father  or  myself.' 

" '  I  can  do  no  less  than  take  my  leave  after  such 
a  hint,'  he  said,  'but  I  trust  that  Mademoiselle  will 
give  me  the  pleasure  of  another  interview.  Mon- 
sieur your  father  has  invited  me  to  call  upon  him, 
and  I  am  greatly  interested  in  Louisiana  and  also 
in  our  young  friend,  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis.  With 
proper  backing  he  will  go  far,  and  I  shall  i><  happy 
to  render  him  any  service  that  I  can.' 

444  With  a  view  to  assisting  him  in  going  still 
further?'  I  asked,  for  I  had  imw  < pule  recovered 
myself. 

Kxartly,'  he  laughed.  (IIe  may  find  that  his 
fortune  will  bo  made,  as  it  was  ruined,  by  a  thn>\v 
of  the  dice.  Mademoiselle  understands  that  I 
mean  by  the  merest  chance? 

444 1  understand,'  I  replied,  *and  if  Monsieur  de 
St.  Denis  experiences  any  good  from  going  to 
America,  no  one  will  be  readier  than  I  to  maintain 
that  it  was  a  lucky  throw  that  sent  him  th 

This  was  all  that  Mademoiselle  wrote  at  this 
time,  but  we  presently  heard  that  Governor  Cadillac 
had  so  disheartened  the  financier  Crozat  by  his  un- 
favorable report  of  the  present  state  an <1  prosprrt 
of  trade  in  the  colony,  that  the  worthy  man  deci<l<*<l 
nut  to  throw  any  more  of  his  capital  into  such  a 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  289 

bottomless  pit,  and  forthwith  surrendered  his 
charter. 

The  ministry  consolidated  the  affairs  of  Louisiana 
and  the  peltry  trade  of  Canada  into  one  budget,  to 
be  administered  by  a  company  called  the  Western, 
and  the  Eegent  having  the  authority  of  naming  the 
directors,  gave  the  presidency  to  his  favorite,  John 
Law,  who  exerted  over  him  a  fascination  amount- 
ing to  hypnotism.  As  I  look  back  upon  the  man 
now  in  the  light  of  after  events,  it  is  still  impossible 
for  me  to  fathom  his  character,  to  disentangle  the 
threads  of  fraud,  of  sound  finance,  of  specious 
scheming,  of  personal  greed,  of  magnificent  daring, 
and  of  self-delusion,  that  went  to  make  up  the  warp 
and  woof  of  the  Mississippi  scheme  which  capti- 
vated and  bankrupted  France.  It  had,  as  I  have 
indicated,  a  basis  of  legitimate  credit,  the  issue  of 
paper  money  as  representing  assets  in  real  estate 
and  other  values.  His  private  bank  was  doing 
business  in  an  open  and  successful  manner  when  the 
Duke  of  Orleans  converted  it  into  a  national  bank, 
and  the  issue  of  its  notes  became  so  prodigious  that 
to  sustain  its  credit,  some  new  source  of  revenue 
had  to  be  devised. 

It  was  then  that  Law  perceived  the  practically 
unlimited  field  for  speculation  in  real  estate  offered 
by  the  new  continent.  He  mapped  it  out  into 


290  MARGARITA 

grants,  estates,  privileges,  and  even  city  lots,  where 
no  cities  were.  Louisiana  was  to  be  boomed,  and 
there  never  existed  a  man  better  fitted  for  this  task 
than  John  Law.  He  possessed  the  first  essential — 
confidence;  the  nation  believed  in  him  because  he 
believed  in  himself.  It  rushed  to  his  bank  to  pur- 
chase the  stock  which  omUl  hardly  be  issued  fast 
enough  to  satisfy  the  demand  of  investors. 

His  scheme  was  not  entirely  on  paper;  the  land 
was  actually  granted,  and  on  condition  of  occupa- 
tion and  improvement,  emigration  was  assisted. 

There  was  only  one  man  who  was  fitted  to  be 
the  head  of  a  colony  which  was  destined  to  fabulous 
growth,  only  one  man  who  could  honestly  believe 
in  and  accomplish  the  impossible.  Every  voice 
acclaimed  Bienville,  and  Law  at  once  made  Inm 
Governor  of  the  colony  under  the  new  auspices,  no 
longer  hampered  by  restrictions,  but  backed  by 
ample  support. 

Bienville  threw  himself  into  the  scheme  with 
enthusiasm,  the  immediate  settling  of  the  entire 
country,  the  creation  of  a  flourishing  state  and  the 
magical  up  springing  of  ready-made  cities. 

The  entire  Mississippi  Valley  was  laid  out  in  con- 
cessions, and  emigrants  swarmed  to  take  possession 
of  the  new  plantations,  milling  and  mining  privi- 
leges, the  lumber  and  fur  trade,  the  tobacco,  rice, 


A  THRO  W  OF  THE  DICE.  291 

silk  and  cotton  culture.  Three  ships  were  con- 
stantly employed  in  the  transportation  of  settlers, 
provisions,  merchandise  and  stock.  New  forts  were 
built  in  Texas,  engineers  sounded  and  mapped  the 
coast.  Not  only  had  Law  secured  the  best  officials 
possible  in  Louisiana,  but  the  directors  of  his  com- 
pany were  well  chosen  in  France.  Diron  d'Artag- 
uette  was  an  honest  and  an  able  man.  His  brother 
was  an  officer  under  Bienville.  He  thoroughly  be- 
lieved in  the  feasibility  of  the  Mississippi  scheme, 
and  indeed  all  that  was  lacking  was  more  time  than 
Law  could  command,  before  it  was  necessary  to 
realize  profits  on  the  investments. 

Soon  three  passenger  ships  were  not  enough; 
emigrants  came  in  shoals,  in  companies,  and  they 
were  of  good  character,  not  only  mechanics  and 
laborers,  but  men  of  education  and  rank.  The 
learned  professions  and  the  nobility  were  well 
represented.  Marquises  and  counts  were  soon  so 
commonly  met  that  they  received  very  little  con- 
sideration, and  the  proudest  names  of  the  French 
aristocracy  sprinkled  the  map  which  gave  the  loca- 
tion of  the  new  manoirs.  Law  reserved  a  section 
of  land  on  the  Arkansas  for  himself,  and  settled  it 
with  Germans,  and  Diron  d' Artaguette  preempted  a 
great  estate  at  the  Indian  hunting  grounds  of  Baton 
Rouge. 


292  MAEOAE1TA. 

Each  proprietor  of  a  manoir  sent  on  an  average 
fifty  settlers,  often  helpless  creatures  with  no 
knowledge  of  agriculture  or  of  any  useful  trade. 
It  was  for  us  to  provide  them  with  transportation 
to  their  land  and  with  subsistence  and  the  means  of 
erecting  homes.  Bienville  was  carried  away  with 
enthusiasm,  and  was  indefatigable.  He  scarcely 
slept,  but  labored  day  and  night  to  provide  for  the 
flood  of  emigration. 

Major  Boisbriant  escorted  a  large  number  to  the 
Illinois  country.  A  company  of  St.  Malo  merchants 
were  billeted  on  the  Natchez. 

The  capital  of  Louisiana  was  now  named  New 
Orleans,  in  honor  of  the  Rep  nt 

I  v  it-It  led  Natchitoches  to  La  Harpe,  who  brought 
out  sixty  emigrants,  for  I  had  another  estate  in 
view.  I  received  a  special  grant  of  land  between 
any  two  rivers  west  of,  but  not  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi,  at  my  own  choice,  and  on  condition 
that  I  should  first  explore  and  furnish  the  directors 
with  a  map  of  the  locality.  This  concession,  I  was 
informed  by  a  letter  which  accompanied  the  grant, 
had  been  made  me  at  the  request  of  the  president 
of  the  company,  who  acknowledged  himself  in- 
debted to  me  for  the  stepping-stone,  which  at  the 
beginning  of  his  career,  had  enabled  him  to  mount 
to  success. 


A  THROW  OF  THE  DICE.  293 

I  not  unnaturally  thought  that  reference  was 
here  made  to  the  money  which  Law  had  gained 
from  me;  but  Margarita  received  a  letter  from 
Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  in  which  the  following 
paragraph  suggested  that  John  Law's  gratitude  was 
due  to  quite  another  circumstance. 

"  I  have  lately  met  Monsieur  Diron  d'Artaguette 
of  the  Western  Company,"  wrote  Mademoiselle, 
"  and  he  desired  me  to  remember  him — to  whom  do 
you  suppose?  To  your  husband's  faithful  valet, 
Jallot!  He  said  that  he  was  the  only  man  in 
Louisiana  who  had  shaved  him  acceptably.  He  also 
said  that  Jallot  had  received  a  compliment  from  the 
President  of  the  Western  Company  (John  Law),  for 
when  one  of  the  directors  inquired  what  service 
Monsieur  de  St.  Denis  had  rendered  Monsieur  Law, 
which  deserved  so  distinguished  a  recognition,  the 
President  had  replied  that  Monsieur  de  St.  Denis 
had  kindly  allowed  his  barber  Jallot  to  curl  his 
wigs,  and  that  he  had  such  a  fashionable  touch  that 
his  grace,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  had  noticed  them, 
and  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  acquaintance 
which  had  meant  so  much  for  him ! " 

I  had  already  resolved  for  another  reason  to 
share  my  concession  of  land  with  Jallot,  for  he  had 
accompanied  me  on  our  first  visit  to  the  locality 
which  I  had  chosen,  the  track  of  land  between  the 


294  MA&QARITA. 

Rio  Grande  and  Pecos  Rivers,  including  the  silver 
mines  and  the  deserted  town  of  Gran  Quivira. 
This  would  make  the  Rio  Grande  and  not  the  Red 
River  the  boundary  between  the  French  and  the 
Spanish,  and  would  permit  of  my  building  a  home 
for  Margarita  just  across  the  river  from  her  father's 
post,  the  Presidio  del  Norte.  Margarita  clapped 
her  hands  when  I  told  her  of  my  choice. 

44  We  have  already  explored  it,"  she  said,  "  and 
have  only  to  forward  to  the  company  Fra  Nicolas* 
map  with  such  additions  as  you  care  to  make.  Fra 
Luis  little  knew  what  a  favor  he  was  doing  you 
when  he  left  it  in  his  room  in  I ' 

44  The  occupancy  of  the  entire  State  of  Texas  by 
the  French  will  be  disputed  by  your  people,"  I  said. 

"My  people  are  the  French,"  she  said  proudly. 
"  Ever  since  we  made  our  choice  at  Acapulco*  there 
has  been  no  question  as  to  our  nationality  in  my 
mind." 

It  would  have  been  a  fair  domain  but,  for  rea- 
sons which  I  shall  presently  explain,  we  were  not 
destined  to  take  immediate  possession  of  it. 

Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  on  her  return  to  France 
had  left  her  furniture  in  Margarita's  care  and  for  her 
use,  for  Bienville  had  established  us  in  the  house 
which  the  Cadillacs  had  vacated,  which  it  will  be 
remembered  was  his  before  their  coming. 


A  THUG  W  OF  THE  DICE.  295 

Mademoiselle  had  not  given  us  these  furnishings, 
(with  the  exception  of  the  embroidery  frame  they 
were  only  lent)  for,  as  we  perfectly  understood,  she 
hoped  to  come  out  to  Louisiana  again  as  the  wife 
of  Governor  de  Bienville.  That  time  seemed  to  us 
now  very  near.  Bienville  said  to  me  one  day,  "  I 
am  nearing  my  heart's  desire.  Only  a  year  more 
of  this  work  and  all  will  be  plain  sailing.  Then 
I  shall  go  to  France  and  insist  on  my  re- 
ward." 

"  But  Monsieur  de  Cadillac  ?  " 

"  He  shall  come  too,  but  unofficially"  Bienville's 
dark  eye  twinkled  as  he  said  the  word.  "  Rosalie 
writes  me  that  he  recognizes  my  success,  and  tells 
every  one  that  it  is  owing  to  the  good  teaching  he 
gave  me.  The  happiness  which  has  fled  from  me 
so  long  is  almost  within  my  grasp,  but  I  am  so 
tired,  so  tired.  If  I  can  only  have  strength  to  keep 
up  the  pace  a  little  longer.  There  were  eight 
hundred  arrivals  last  month."  He  sat  with  his 
elbows  upon  the  table  before  him,  and  his  head 
fell  forward  wearily  upon  his  arms.  "  Now  I  shall 
rest,"  he  murmured  in  his  sleep. 

Picard  opened  the  door  noisily  and  announced 
that  the  Jfarechal  de  Villars  and  the  Philippe 
had  arrived,  heavily  laden  with  passengers,  many  of 
whom  were  soldiers.  "  What  does  that  mean  ?  " 


296  MARGARITA. 

Bienville  asked  sharply,  lie  was  to  know  very 
shortly.  The  ships  brought  news  of  the  declaration 
of  war  with  Spain,  and  the  advice  not  to  lose  a 
moment  in  attacking  Pensacola. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


OLD   FLAGS   FURLED. 

The  way  is  long,  my  children,  long  and  rough, 
The  moors  are  dreary,  the  woods  are  dark  ; 
But  he  that  creeps  from  cradle  on  to  grave, 
UnskilPd  save  in  the  velvet  course  of  fortune, 
Hath  miss'd  the  discipline  of  noble  hearts. 

— Old  Play. 

VEN  though  Bienville 
knew  that  this  war 
must  postpone  the  re- 
alization of  his  dearest 
hopes,  he  welcomed 
its  announcement  with 
the  enthusiasm  of  a 
soldier;  for  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Spanish  at 
Pensacola  was  a  con- 
tinual menace  to  the 
colony. 

"We  will  never  be  secure  with  that  hornet's- 
nest  under  our  eaves,"  he  said.  "  I  am  glad  to  have 
the  chance  of  smoking  them  out  and  of  making  our 

297 


298  MARGARITA. 

own  city  safe,  before  I  ask  Rosalie  to  come  to  it 
again." 

Every  other  French  officer  and  soldier  shared  his 
feelings.  They  were  spoiling  for  fight.  They  had 
been  obliged  to  fraternize  with  the  Spanish,  to  help 
them  when  they  were  short  of  provisions,  to  pre- 
tend friendship  where  there  was  only  rivalry,  and 
they  set  to  cleaning  their  guns  and  filling  their 
powder  horns  with  whoops  of  joy.  My  own  posi- 
tion was  somewhat  different.  Margarita  packed 
my  modest  camp  outfit,  with  a  white  face,  but 
without  a  word.  There  were  none  of  her  immediate 
family  or  friends  at  Pensacola,  but  if  the  war  con- 
tinued there  might  be  fighting  in  Texas,  and  pos- 
sibly her  father  would  bo  sent  to  the  field,  or  our 
troops  ordered  to  attack  Presidio  del  Norte. 

We  had  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers,  and 
these  were  immediately  despatched  to  Pensacola, 
in  two  French  ships,  which  happened  to  be  in  port. 
Bienville  sent  runners  to  the  Indian  chiefs  to  join 
him  with  their  braves  at  Mobile,  and  set  out  for 
that  post  in  a  sloop. 

The  ships  that  were  sent  before  landed  us  at  the 
Island  of  Santa  Rosa,  where  there  was  a  small 
Spanish  guard.  We  captured  the  little  castle,  and 
disguising  some  of  our  soldiers  in  the  uniforms  of 
the  Spaniards,  we  crossed  to  Pensacola  in  the  early 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  299 

morning  in  the  small  Spanish  vessel,  which  had 
brought  the  guard  to  the  island.  We  were  allowed 
by  the  sentinels  to  enter  the  citadel,  where  we  sur- 
prised the  few  soldiers  on  duty  and  captured  the 
fort  without  firing  a  shot. 

My  first  concern  was,  of  course,  to  search  the 
town  for  James  Hiems,  and  I  was  greatly  disap- 
pointed to  find  that  he  had  escaped  from  the  Span- 
iards shortly  after  he  had  been  delivered  into  the 
custody  of  Fra  Luis  by  Governor  Cadillac.  I 
learned  this  from  the  Jesuit's  brother,  Don  Andreas 
de  la  Kiola,  late  commander  of  the  citadel,  who 
told  me  also  that  Fra  Luis  had  left  Pensacola  some 
two  months  since.  lie  had  received  a  letter  from 
a  certain  Juan  PArcheveque,  of  Santa  Clara,  which 
had  caused  him  to  return  to  Mexico.  Doubtless,  I 
thought,  with  the  talisman  in  his  possession !  And 
now  he  was  to  be  expected  to  approach  the  Natchez 
by  way  of  the  Texan  missions. 

The  campaign  had  begun  in  April  with  a  strategic 
victory,  but  the  Spaniards  recaptured  Pensacola 
and  we  had  gallant  fighting  before  September  when 
we  won  it  fairly.  Bienville  allowed  his  savage 
allies  to  loot  the  town,  but  would  not  permit 
massacre.  He  multiplied  himself  in  every  direc- 
tion, making  sure  that  his  orders  were  obeyed, 
and  that  not  a  Spaniard  was  slain  after  surrender. 


300  MARGARITA. 

Then,  as  we  had  not  a  sufficient  force  to  hold  the 
post,  with  the  possibility  of  immediate  reprisal  by 
the  Spanish  warships,  the  fort  was  dismantled, 
the  buildings  burned,  and  word  sent  to  Havana 
that  we  were  ready  to  receive  propositions  for  a 
fair  exchange  of  prisoners. 

Matters  being  settled  in  so  satisfactory  a  manner 
on  the  Oulf,  we  had  time  to  think  of  Natchitoches, 
and  Bienvillc  placed  me  in  command  of  a  reinfor- 
cing party  for  that  post.  I  had  a  word  with  Mar- 
garita, at  New  Orleans,  on  the  way.  How  she 
begged  to  go  with  me,  calling  to  mind  my  unlucky 
promise  that  we  were  inseparable.  I  besought 
Bienville  to  let  me  take  her,  but  he  had  more  sense 
than  I,  and  forbade  her  going.  My  soldiers  were 
principally  Natchez  Indians,  led  by  Little  Sun,  a 
brother  of  Weenonah's,  to  whom  Bienville  had  dele- 
gated his  nominal  kingship  of  the  tribe.  Question- 
ing this  young  man,  I  saw  that  as  yet  he  had  no 
suspicion  that  the  fragment  of  opal  sent  to  them, 
with  the  dead  body  of  Tonty,  was  not  genuine.  If 
I  could  only  obtain  the  true  talisman,  I  might  still 
be  able  to  place  it  in  the  idol's  mouth  before  we 
were  accused  of  fraud. 

At  present  I  could  only  warn  the  Indians  against 
any  overtures  from  either  the  English  or  the 
Spaniards. 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  301 

Arrived  at  Natchitoches,  I  learned  that  unusual 
activity  had  been  noticed  at  the  neighboring  Span- 
ish mission  of  Adaes. 

I  accordingly  swooped  down  upon  the  place  with 
all  haste,  and  found  it  full  of  Spanish  soldiers. 
They  had  barricaded  themselves  very  neatly,  in 
evident  expectation  of  attack,  but  my  Indians  set 
fire  to  their  buildings  with  flaming  arrows,  and 
they  were  forced  to  surrender. 

What  was  my  delight  to  find  Fra  Luis  among  my 
prisoners. 

"Welcome  to  Fort  Natchitoches,"  I  cried. 
"  This  is  a  happier  meeting  than  I  had  anticipated." 

He  answered  me  never  a  word.  I  think  he  ex- 
pected to  be  hung,  for  I  had  him  handcuffed,  and 
led  back  to  my  fort  carefully  guarded.  I  saw  him 
bestowed  in  the  guard-house,  where  I  assured  him 
that  he  would  remain  until  he  placed  the  true  talis- 
man in  my  hands. 

His  face  brightened  at  that  declaration.  "  It  is 
not  in  my  immediate  possession,"  he  said. 

"  But  you  can  send  for  it." 

"  If  you  will  release  one  of  the  prisoners  to  do 
the  errand." 

"  I  do  not  trust  you,"  I  replied,  "  nor  will  I  trust 
one  of  your  men.  Give  one  of  mine  a  written 
order  for  the  gem." 


302  MARGARITA. 

"  Then  send  an  Indian ;  for  no  Frenchman  would 
return  alive  from  such  an  errand." 

He  had  me  there,  for  a  Natchez  Indian  would 
have  recognized  the  opal,  and  have  carried  it 
straight  to  Stinging  Serpent  instead  of  bringing  it 
to  me.  "  Give  me  the  order,"  I  said,  after  a  mo- 
ment's thought;  "  I  shall  send  it  as  I  think  best" 

"Then  kindly  give  me  pen  and  ink." 

I  brought  it,  and  paper  as  well,  but  he  tore  the 
title-page  from  his  breviary,  which  he  took  from 
Ins  breast  "That  will  be  a  sure  token  that  it  is 
from  me,"  he  said,  and  I  suspected  no  trick. 

He  wrote  an  order,  which  was  at  the  same  time  a 
safeguard  for  the  bearer,  and  it  looked  simple  and 
straight  enough,  but  when  I  read  the  address  I 
started,  for  it  was  directed  to 

JUAN  L'ARCHEVEQUE, 

PuMo  of  Santa  Clara, 
Near  the  City  of  Santa  Fe. 

I  left  him  and  talked  over  the  matter  with  Jallot. 

"  I  am  the  man  to  go,"  said  the  faithful  fellow, 
"for  I  have  been  there  before,  and  know  the 
man." 

"  I  do  not  like  the  look  of  the  thing,"  I  replied. 
"  Santa  F6  has  a  strong  presidio,  well  garrisoned. 
I  am  not  going  to  send  you  into  the  jaws  of  the 
lion.  It  does  not  seem  probable  to  me  that  the 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  303 

opal  is  so  far  away.  It  is  much  more  likely  that  it 
is  buried  at  Adaes." 

Jallot  tried  to  convince  me  that,  as  FArcheveque 
went  back  and  forward  from  Santa  Clara  to  the 
City  of  Mexico,  it  was  very  possible  that  Fra  Luis 
had  entrusted  the  jewel  to  his  keeping.  "  We  will 
sleep  on  this,"  I  said  ;  "  perhaps  I  shall  understand 
the  matter  better  in  the  morning." 

But  I  saw  no  deeper  into  the  mystery  the  next 
day.  I  was  much  embarrassed  to  accommodate  my 
prisoners,  for  we  were  not  equipped  for  such  hos- 
pitality. Some  of  them  were  wounded,  and  one 
who  was  dying  begged  to  be  allowed  to  confess.  I 
could  not  refuse  that  petition,  and  went  myself  for 
Fra  Luis.  I  could  not  forbear  telling  him  that  I 
had  not  sent  his  message  to  TArcheveque ;  but  he 
shrugged  his  shoulders  indifferently.  I  went  with 
him  to  the  corral,  where  we  had  confined  the 
Spaniards,  and  watched  him  through  the  palisades, 
while  he  performed  the  duties  of  his  office.  He 
carried  the  holy  wafers  in  a  case  hung  about  his 
neck,  and,  having  administered  to  the  dying  man, 
he  lifted  his  hand,  blessing  the  other  prisoners- 
They  sank  upon  their  knees,  all  but  one,  who 
sprang  forward  and  kissed  his  other  hand. 

I  called  to  the  priest  sharply  to  come  to  me ;  he 
did  so,  and  I  thought  I  had  prevented  any  commu- 


:;<>4  MARGARITA. 

tion  between  him  and  the  men,  but  that  night 
the  man  who  had  kissed  his  hand  escapr.I. 

If  more  had  slipped  away  at  the  same  time  their 
absence  would  have  been  immediately  discovered  by 
the  guard,  who  had  orders  to  inspect  the  prisoners 
twice  during  the  night. 

Evidently  they  had  hoped  that  one  more  or  less 
would  not  be  noticed  until  the  fugitive  was  beyond 
recovery ;  but  we  were  not  BO  careless  as  that,  and 
realizing  that  the  fugitive  was  doubtless  a  mes- 
senger, I  put  Little  Sun  on  his  track,  and  before 
nightfall  he  was  brought  back.  No  letter  was 
found  upon  him,  and  he  would  make  no  disclosure 
under  question,  but  the  direction  of  his  flight  was 
most  significant  and  unexpected.  Only  an  Indian 
could  have  trailed  him,  or  have  looked  for  his 
striking  out  directly  towards  the  north  ! 

What  could  that  mean?  Possibly  that  he  in- 
tended to  make  a  long  curve  after  we  bad  ceased 
searching  for  him.  But  he  had  no  provisions  or 
gun,  and  could  not  have  hoped  to  subsist  long. 
The  truth  came  upon  me  with  a  flash.  There  were 
Spaniards  somewhere  to  the  north  of  us.  Juan 
PArcheveque  was  the  man  whom  Fra  Luis  had 
selected  to  play  the  part  which  he  had  previously 
assigned  to  me  with  the  Natchez. 

Without  doubt  the  garrison  from  Santa  Fe  were 


OLD  FLAGS  FUELED.  305 

moving  down  the  Arkansas,  and  Fra  Luis  had  at- 
tempted to  communicate  with  them. 

A  surprise  from  the  rear  had  been  planned.  The 
Spaniards  had  counted  on  the  fact  that  the  Natchez 
braves,  and  the  soldiers  of  Fort  Rosalie,  had  been 
withdrawn  by  Bienville  to  the  attack  on  Pensacola, 
— and  they  proposed  that  the  Spanish  troops  from 
San  Antonio  and  the  other  Texan  presidios  should 
concentrate  at  Adaes  and  take  Natchitoches,  and 
then  meeting  the  Santa  F6  expedition,  they  hoped 
to  easily  capture  Fort  Rosalie  and  New  Orleans, 
and  in  concert  with  the  blockading  Spanish  fleet,  to 
make  quite  another  sequel  to  the  campaign.  It  was 
well  thought,  but,  fortunately,  the  French  were  too 
quick  in  their  movements  for  the  slow-going  dons, 
and  we  outwitted  and  out-fought  them  at  every 
point. 

Leaving  my  prisoners  at  Natchitoches  I  marched 
with  my  French  and  Indian  forces  by  trails,  known 
to  Little  Sun,  straight  to  the  Mississippi,  where  we 
made  canoes  and,  reinforced  by  friendly  Tensas 
Indians,  paddled  up  the  Great  River  into  the 
Arkansas.  For  days,  our  flotilla  continued  its 
journey.  Each  night,  while  we  camped,  a  reconnoi- 
tring party  explored  the  country  in  advance.  And, 
at  last,  our  scouts  brought  word  that  the  Spaniards 
were  encamped  in  force  only  a  few  miles  away. 


306  MARGARITA. 

We  surprised  them  in  the  early  morning,  and  there 
was  fierce  fighting,  the  last  of  our  little  war. 

Heaven  grant  that  I  see  no  more  such  business, 
for  they  asked  no  quarter,  and  I  think  we  killed 
them  all.  Good  fellows  bit  the  dust  on  our  own 
side,  and  the  prairie  flowers,  the  following  spring, 
were  richer  and  redder  for  the  blood  of  near  a  hun- 
dred brave  men.  In  the  high  grass,  after  all  was 
over,  I  found  Jean  1'Archeveque.  I  thought  him 
dead,  but  as  I  searched  to  see,  if  by  any  chance,  the 
opal  was  about  his  person,  the  flame  of  life  ilirk- 
ered  up  for  an  instant. 

I  spoke  to  him  in  French,  telling  him  what  I 
sought ;  and  the  old  familiar  language,  or  it  may  be 
his  conscience,  made  him  take  me  for  his  murdered 
commander  La  Salle,  for  he  cried,  "  Pardon,  Mon- 
sieur, I  did  not  know  they  meant  to  kill  ynu." 

"  God  forgive  you,"  I  said,  "  but  tell  me,  quickly, 
if  you  know,  where  is  the  opal  ?  Did  Fra  Luis  tell 
you?" 

44  He  did  not  get  it,"  he  muttered  thickly ;  "  no 
Spaniard — no  Frenchman  will — ever  get  it." 

And  I  knew  that  in  his  dying  words,  Jean  1'Ar- 
cheveque had  spoken  the  truth. 

I  returned  to  Natchitoches  to  find  all  my  prison- 
ers safe,  with  the  exception  of  Fra  Luis.  He,  of 
all  others,  had  escaped,  and  so  much  time  had 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  307 

elapsed  since  his  evasion,  that  there  was  no  possibil- 
ity of  his  recapture.  I  wished  with  all  my  heart 
that  the  others  had  gone  too,  for  the  Indians 
clamored  that  half  of  them,  at  least,  should  be 
given  up  to  them  to  torture.  I  was  at  my  wits' end 
to  content  my  allies,  and  feared  that  I  would  have 
to  fight  with  them  to  protect  the  Spaniards, 
when  word  came  from  Bienville  that  the  war  was 
over.  It  had  closed  with  as  little  reason,  so  far  as 
we  in  America  were  concerned,  as  it  had  begun. 
Louis  XV,  it  was  said,  would  marry  the  Spanish 
Infanta,  and  though  he  did  not  do  so,  (worse  luck 
to  the  sweet  lady  who  became  his  queen),  we  were 
now  called  upon  to  love  our  enemies,  and  to  liber- 
ate the  prisoners  we  bad  fought  so  hard  to  take. 

Little  Sun  and  his  braves  were  greatly  disgusted, 
and  went  away  in  high  dudgeon,  to  report  me  to 
Bienville,  who  had  need  of  all  his  tact  to  explain 
the  situation. 

The  war  was  ended  with  solid  advantage  to 
Louisiana,  for  we  had  captured  Pensacola  and  re- 
pulsed the  Spaniards  in  Texas.  The  future  for  the 
French  in  the  New  World  was  never  so  promising. 
Settlers  were  flocking  to  the  country  in  ever  in- 
creasing numbers.  Enthusiasm  in  France  was  at 
its  height.  The  stock  of  the  Western  Company 
had  gone  up  fabulously;  shares  which  had  been 


308  MARGARITA. 

bought  at  five  hundred  livres,  were  eagerly  pur- 
chased at  eighteen  thousand,  and  this  in  the  face  of 
the  fact  that  Law  had  created  fifteen  hundred  mil- 
lions of  new  shares.  Silver  and  gold  deluged  the 
company.  Every  one  was  crazy  to  change  it  for 
stock.  Mademoiselle  wrote  that  she  had  gone  with 
her  father  to  the  Rue  Quincampoix,  where  Law's 
bank  and  the  offices  of  the  company  were  situated, 
and  they  had  found  it  besieged  with  speculators,  wild 
to  invest  their  money  in  Louisiana  lands.  Her  father 
had  caught  the  fever  and  had  placed  all  his  fortune 
in  Law's  hands.  A  dividend  of  forty  per  cent,  had 
just  been  declared,  and  the  street  was  so  crowded 
that  it  was  necessary  to  close  it  with  gates  and  ad- 
mit investors  as  at  a  benefit  at  the  circus.  The 
houses  in  the  street  which  were  all  occupied  by 
brokers,  and  which  had  formerly  rented  for  forty 
livres  per  year,  were  now  clamored  for  at  eight 
hundred  per  month.  Mademoiselle  was  apprehen- 
sive that  such  a  state  of  things  could  not  last,  for 
the  Princess  of  Conti  had  told  her  that  the  Prince, 
her  brother-in-law,  had  realized  four  wagon  loads  of 
specie  on  his  paper.  Still  Monsieur  de  Cadillac  did 
not  believe  that  it  was  time  to  sell.  "  The  stock 
will  go  higher,"  he  declared,  "  and  the  Prince  will 
be  angry  with  himself  for  not  profiting  by  the 
boom-" 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  309 

Monsieur  de  Cadillac  was  not  only  exhilarated 
with  the  general  intoxication  ;  he  was  mellowing  too 
with  old  age ;  he  had  grown  more  tender  to  her,  and 
depended  upon  her  constant  care  like  a  little  child. 
Sometimes  he  spoke  of  Bienville.  "  I  did  not  do 
that  young  man  justice,"  he  had  admitted,  but 
when  Mademoiselle  asked  him  to  write  and  say  so, 
he  flared  into  jealousy.  "  You  love  him  still,"  he 
cried.  "  You  love  that  jackanapes  better  than  your 
father." 

"  Let  it  not  be  a  question  of  more  or  less,"  she 
pleaded,  "  but  let  me  love  you  both." 

Then  he  had  stormed  and  raged  and  declared 
that  they  could  not  marry  by  French  law  without 
his  consent,  and  never,  never  would  he  give  it. 

"  But  there  are  other  countries  where  we  might 
be  married  without  it,"  she  had  flashed  back,  driven 
to  desperation. 

A  look  of  fear  crept  into  his  face.  "  Do  not  de- 
sert your  old  father,  Rosalie,"  he  begged,  and  he 
had  wept  so  piteously  that  she  had  calmed  him  with 
the  promise  that  she  would  never  leave  him  so  long 
as  he  lived. 

"  So  you  see,"  Mademoiselle  wrote  to  Bienville, 
"we  have  each  our  duties  which  keep  us  apart. 
And  yet  our  love  should  make  those  duties  easier 
and  not  harder,  for  what  I  most  desire  for  you, 


310  MARGARITA. 

dearest,  is  that  you  should  do  your  great  work 
nobly  without  hindrance  from  me,  but  helped  and 
comforted  in  it,  if  that  may  be  my  privilege;  and 
what  I  most  desire  for  myself  is  not  to  fail  in  duty, 
but  to  be  worthy  of  your  love.  Surely,  that  is  bet- 
ter than  mere  happiness.99 

Bienville  told  me  of  this  with  no  note  of  despair 
in  his  voice— only  a  great  longing.  "We  must 
wait,"  he  said  bravely,  as  though  he  had  not  already 
waited  long  years.  "  Her  father  cannot  live  for- 
ever, but  why  does  he  make  it  so  diilicult  for  me  to 
wish  him  long  life?  She  is  a  saint,  but  I,  God  help 
me,  I  am  only  a  man." 

Though  there  was  no  more  fighting,  there  seemed 
more  for  Bu-nvillr  to  do  than  ever.  The  company 
had  made  the  great  mistake  of  sending  negro  slaves 
to  the  colonists. 

Half  of  the  wretches  shipped,  died  on  the  pas- 
sage, and  the  others  brought  with  tli  con- 
tagious diseases  which  spread  among  the  settlers. 

Suddenly,  as  from  a  clear  sky,  there  came  ano 
and  more  overwhelming  stroke  for  the  colony  in 
the  news  that  John  Law  had  failed  and  absconded, 
and  that  the  Western  Company  was  bankrupt. 
The  Louisiana  bubble  had  burst  and  thousands 
were  beggared. 

Even  then,  Bienville's  great  heart  did  not  de- 


BIENYILLE 


OLD  FLAGS  FUELED.  311 

spair.  "  Louisiana  is  solvent,  even  if  the  company 
is  in  liquidation,"  he  declared.  "  Our  affairs  were 
never  in  a  more  flourishing  condition.  The  farms 
are  beginning  to  produce ;  we  are  independent  of 
help  from  the  mother  country ;  we  can  support  our- 
selves." 

But  we  were  not  so  strong  as  he  thought.  With 
the  cessation  of  food  supplies  from  France  came  a 
failure  of  our  crops,  and  famine  visited  us.  Hun- 
dreds died  of  starvation,  and  other  hundreds  sub- 
sisted only  on  shell-fish. 

The  company  surrendered  its  charter  to  the  King, 
and  Louis  XV,  finding  that  money  was  not  imme- 
diately forthcoming  from  the  colony,  vented  his 
anger  on  its  chief  magistrate.  The  old  charges 
against  Bienville,  pigeon-holed  though  disproved, 
were  revamped,  and  in  February,  1724,  a  letter  was 
sent  out  from  the  King,  directing  Bienville  to  leave 
the  command  of  the  colony  in  the  hands  of  Mon- 
sieur de  Boisbriant,  and  to  return  to  France  to  give 
an  account  of  his  administration. 

It  was  a  different  home  going  from  that  which 
he  had  hoped.  His  brother  Chateauguay  and  his 
nephew  de  Noyan  were  also  recalled.  My  heart 
was  bursting  with  indignation,  and  I  begged  my  old 
commander  to  allow  me  to  send  in  my  resigna- 
tion. 


312  MARGARITA 

"  No,  St.  Denis,"  he  replied  calmly.  "  Boisbriant 
is  a  good  fellow ;  stand  by  him,  he  will  have  his 
hands  full. 

"  He  is  in  the  Illinois ;  you  must  go  to  him  at  once 
with  this  news.  I  have  written  him,  begging  him 
to  assign  the  Indian  department  to  you.  Stop  with 
him  at  Fort  Rosalie  and  explain  matters  as  best  you 
can  to  Little  Sun  and  Weenonah.  You  must  keep 
the  loyalty  of  the  Natchez  and  all  will  go  well." 

Margarita  and  I  vied  with  each  other  in  the  ex- 
pression of  our  indignation. 

"  It  is  a  shame,  a  shame,"  I  cried.  "  For  twenty- 
seven  years  he  has  served  Framr  in  this  colony. 
Think  of  the  danger,  the  labor,  the  devotion  of 
those  years.  He  has  governed  the  savages  as  no 
one  else  could,  he  has  been  a  father  and  a  mother 
to  the  colonists.  He  has  the  worship  of  his  sol- 
diers, and  he  has  beaten  the  Spaniards,  and  what 
does  he  get  for  it  ?  Nothing,  nothing  but  disgrace. 
Oh!  I  could  kill  Louis  for  it.  He  has  sacrificed 
everything  for  his  country,  even  his  heart's  love. 
Did  you  notice,  Margarita,  though  he  is  only  forty  - 
six,  how  gray  he  has  grown  ?  That  lock  which 
tumbles  over  his  forehead  which  used  to  be  as  black 
as  a  crow's  wing,  is  streaked  with  white.  Madem- 
oiselle de  Cadillac  would  hardly  know  him  now." 

But  at  that  word  Margarita  slipped  her  hand 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  313 

within  mine.    "  She  will  know  him,"  she  said,  "  and 
perhaps  this  is  all  for  the  best." 

It  was  not  all  for  the  best  for  me  or  for  Louisiana. 
Boisbriant  held  command  only  temporarily,  and 
Governor  Perier  took  his  place.  He  treated  the  In- 
dians with  contempt,  and  made  a  cruel  brute  named 
Chepart  commander  at  Fort  Rosalie.  He  sum- 
marily took  possession  of  the  cultivated  farms  of 
the  Natchez,  driving  them  from  their  homes,  burn- 
ing their  temple  and  desecrating  the  platforms  of 
their  dead. 

Stinging  Serpent  fled  with  the  idols  to  a  distant 
village,  and  the  Indians,  accustomed  to  obey  the 
authority  of  Bienville,  at  first  submitted  durably, 
building  new  cabins,  and  breaking  up  the  wild  sod. 
But  even  into  their  dazed  brains  there  came  a  con- 
sciousness of  outrage  and  tyranny,  and  sullen  looks 
took  the  place  of  friendly  ones.  Some  of  us  who 
knew  the  signs  of  the  times  saw  a  storm  gathering, 
but  the  new  Governor  would  not  listen  to  us. 

Captain  Chepart  forbade  his  soldiers  to  take  the 
usual  summer  outing  in  the  woods.  There  were  to 
be  no  more  autumnal  hunts  with  the  Indians,  no 
dip  of  the  paddle  and  sob  of  the  water  against  the 
side  of  the  canoe,  as  it  slipped  over  the  moonlit 
bayou  and  through  the  shadowy  everglades.  No 


311  MARGARITA. 

more  jolly  camps  with  game  roasting  above  the 
coals,  and  wild  berries  served  in  broad  leaves  by 
the  pretty  brown  hands  that  had  picked  them.  No 
braggart  stories  of  adventure  after  the  feast  or 
thrill  of  Picard's  fiddle  as  the  lads  showed  the  In- 
dian  girls  how  dancing  was  understood  in 
France. 

Ah !  merry  Chateauguay,  bold  Boisbriant,  heroic 
d'Artaguette,  Pennicault  the  boaster,  saucy  Picard, 
and  the  irrepressible  Jallot,  we  shall  never  gather 
again  with  our  beloved  Bienville  in  the  moss  tapes- 
tried cypress  halls,  each  one  of  us  the  chief  of  a 
train  of  devoted  retainers,  waited  on,  loved,  adored 
by  our  childlike  clansman. 

No  other  nation  fraternized  with  the  Indians  as 
we  did.  The  Spaniards  enslaved  and  abused  them, 
the  English  drove  them  into  the  wilderness  like 
wild  beasts ;  the  French  alone  treated  them  like  hu- 
man beings.  It  was  all  in  the  march  <>f  civilization, 
we  were  told,  and  the  wild  sweet  life  must  cease, 
for  there  is  a  craving  in  the  heart  of  man  for  sav- 
agery, and  already  many  a  soldier  had  his  wife  in 
the  woods,  and  sturdy  little  half-breed  children  were 
wrestling  with  their  duskier  cousins,  and  beating 
them  in  wood-craft,  while  they  showed  no  love  for 
bo<> 

Margarita,  loving  as  she  was,  had  no  affection  f<>r 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  315 

Weenonah  nor  for  any  of  her  tribe.  So  un- 
reasonably prejudiced  may  be  even  the  best  of 
women. 

The  blessings  of  civilization  did  not  at  this  time 
compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  pleasures  of  bar- 
barism. We  had  all  of  the  privation  and  the  toil 
of  dwellers  in  the  wilderness  without  the  adventure. 
I  could  not  even  emigrate  to  my  Kio  Grande  estate 
and  stake  out  the  claim  which  was  to  cover  the 
silver  mine  and  the  ruins  of  Gran  Quivira,  for  all  of 
that  territory  had  been  ceded  to  Spain. 

So  I  saw  that  mirage  pass,  and  accepting  a  small 
plantation  not  far  from  Fort  Rosalie,  with  infinite 
repugnance,  betook  myself  to  the  drudgery  of  tilling 
the  soil.  But  there  was  blessedness  in  even  that 
uncongenial  life,  for  was  not  my  Margarita  with 
me  ?  One  by  one  there  dropped  in  upon  us  other 
of  heaven's  angels,  cherubs  with  Margarita's  eyes, 
and  my  own  faults.  A  troop  of  little  daredevils 
with  faces  like  the  visions  of  Murillo.  Brown, 
active  boys,  for  whom  I  could  never  manage  to 
buy  shoes,  and  whose  feet  were  tough  enough  not 
to  need  them.  Beautiful,  slim  girls,  who  made  me 
sigh  that  I  could  not  provide  them  with  dowries  and 
who  were  to  leave  me  with  regularity,  as  soon  as 
they  had  celebrated  their  fifteenth  birthday,  with 
husbands  of  the  best  blood  of  the  colony,  who  con- 


316  MARQAEITA. 

sidered  themselves  fortunate  beyond  all  measure  to 
get  them  without  a  sou. 

Three  of  these  treasures  had  come  to  me  before 
Bienville  left  us.  Three  more  had  come,  when  one 
morning  little  Jean  Baptiste  came  running  in  to  say 
that  he  had  seen  the  devil.  Margarita  crossed  herself 
devoutly,  but  I  unbuckled  my  belt,  for  I  will  have 
no  liars  among  my  brood. 

"I  saw  him  too,  father,"  panted  little  Rosalie, 
who  had  followed  her  brother  more  slowly.  ft<  I 
saw  him  too,  and  though  I  knew  that  he  was  the 
devil,  I  was  not  a  coward  like  Baptiste,  but  talked 
with  him.*' 

"And  found  him  fascinating,  I  daresay.  That 
was  like  your  sex/9 1  replied.  "  What  did  he  look 
like,  this  demon?" 

-  Like  this,"  said  Rosalie.    "He  was  not  prett 
and  she  twisted  her  small  features  in  such  horrible 
contortion  with  her  western  eye  looking  east,  and 
her  eastern  eye  looking  west,  that  I  feared  they 
would  never  again  come  straight. 

"  And  what  said  the  devil  ?"  I  asked  trembling, 
for  an  inkling  of  who  it  was  had  flashed  across  roe. 

••  He  took  me  for  an  Indian  girl,  the  stupid,  and 
he  asked  me  the  way  to  the  Natchez  village,  and  if 
I  knew  where  the  medicine  man,  Stinging  Serpent, 
dwelt,  and  the  Princess  Weenonah." 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  317 

"  Did  you  tell  him  ?  " 

"  But  surely,  for  I  was  not  eager  to  detain  him. 
He  spoke  French,  but  not  as  we  do,  though  he 
understood  me  and  begged  me  to  show  him  the 
way,  and  to  go  with  him  to  be  his  little  interpreter, 
telling  the  Princess  Weenonah  that  he  had  come  to 
marry  her,  and  had  brought  as  a  token  a  wonderful 
jewel,  for  the  one  that  the  French  had  given  her 
was  but  glass." 

At  that  I  took  my  gun  from  off  the  chimney- 
hooks,  and  asked  where  she  had  seen  him.  But 
though  I  searched  among  the  corn-stalks,  where  he 
had  been  crouching,  I  could  not  find  him. 

After  that  I  was  not  so  astonished  as  was  the 
Governor  and  his  Council,  when  the  news  came  to 
us  by  flying  refugees,  that  the  entire  Natchez 
nation  had  risen,  and  had  surprised  and  massacred 
all  the  French  at  Fort  Rosalie. 

A  band  of  Indians  in  war-paint  followed  on  the 
track  of  the  fugitives,  but  Little  Sun,  who  led  them, 
told  me  that  he  had  come  out  of  friendship  to  warn 
me  to  fly  at  once. 

It  needed  not  the  appearance  of  James  Hiems 
with  the  true  fire-opal,  and  the  revelation  that  they 
had  been  tricked  by  the  French  to  fire  the  mine 
which  had  so  long  been  in  preparation.  That 
knowledge  was  but  an  additional  argument  in  the 


318  MARGARITA. 

mouth  of  Stinging  Serpent,  who  now  maintained 
that  Bienville  had  known  from  the  first  that  the 
stone  sent  was  fraudulent,  and  had  insulted  them 
by  sending  them  a  corpse  in  lieu  of  a  living  bride- 
groom and  chief. 

Weenonah  declared  that  she  preferred  a  dead 
man  for  a  husband  to  this  hideous  Englishman,  but 
her  remonstrances  and  those  of  her  brother  were 
set  aside.  The  English  were  coming  to  help  them, 
and  they  would  drive  the  French  from  their  ances- 
tral lands  into  the  ocean,  from  whence  they  came. 

So  there  we  were,  launched  upon  an  Indian  war, 
incited  by  English  emissaries,  and  probably  to  be 
backed  by  the  English  colonists,  who  had  been 
steadily  encroaching  upon  us. 

The  entire  colony  was  panic-stricken.  The  raw 
French  soldiers  refused  to  take  the  Held,  and  had  it 
not  been  for  our  Choctaw  allies,  led  by  Alabama 
Mingo,  and  some  of  Bienville's  veterans,  the  threats 
of  the  Natchez  might  have  been  carried  out.  The 
Natchez  Indians  had  fortified  themselves  in  one  of 
their  forts,  and  their  defense  of  it  was  magnificent, 
but  the  Choctaws  surrounded  them  and  patiently 
waited  to  starve  them  out.  They  agreed  to  sur- 
render, finally,  but  during  the  night  fled  from  their 
fort,  and  left  us  the  masters  of  empty  walls. 

It  was  easier  to  trace  their  flight  than  to  follow, 


OLD  FLAGS  FUELED.  319 

for  they  had  divided  into  two  bands,  half  taking 
refuge  with  the  Chickasaws  who  were  under  the 
protection  of  the  English,  and  the  others  had 
ascended  the  Mississippi  in  their  canoes.  It 
was  plain  to  Governor  Perrier  that  this  second 
party  was  the  one  which  must  be  chastised,  but  it 
was  nine  months  before  he  got  his  army  of  a  thou- 
sand men  to  the  steep  bluff  where  this  band  of  the 
Natchez  made  their  last  stand. 

Perrier  besieged  it  in  due  form,  but  again  the 
braves  slipped  away,  this  time  to  the  Illinois,  whom 
it  was  feared  they  would  gain,  leaving  in  our  hands, 
when  the  fort  finally  capitulated,  four  hundred 
women  and  children,  and  only  forty  men,  among 
whom  Little  Sun  voluntarily  gave  himself  up.  It 
was  hardly  to  be  called  a  victory,  for  the  women 
were  only  a  charge,  and  it  is  not  so  greatly  to  be 
wondered  at  that  Perrier  should  have  immediately 
sold  them  as  slaves  to  San  Domingo. 

Weenonah  was  not  among  them,  but  Little  Sun 
told  me  that  she  had  so  far  resolutely  refused  to 
marry  English  Jem,  though  if  her  people  were 
triumphant  in  this  war,  and  received  the  aid  from 
the  English  which  he  had  promised,  she  would  be 
compelled  to  do  so. 

We  were  only  at  the  beginning  of  our  difficulties. 
The  Natchitoches  were  in  revolt.  The  Choctaws 


320  MARQAR1  * 

did  not  like  the  way  in  which  Perrier  had  acknowl- 
edged his  indebtedness  to  them.  There  was  im- 
minent danger  of  their  combining  with  the  Chicka- 
saws  against  us,  and  in  the  event  of  an  insurrection 
of  confederated  Indian  tribes  we  were  lost. 

Diron  1'Artaguette  had  come  out  again,  avowedly 
to  visit  his  brother,  who  was  commanding  at 
Tonty's  old  fort  on  the  liock  of  thr  Illinois,  but  in 
reality  to  render  another  report  to  the  King  of  the 
condition  of  things  in  the  colony.  This  stanch 
friend  of  Bienville's  took  precisely  my  vit-w  of  the 
situation. 

"  There  is  only  one  man  in  the  world  who  can 
straighten  out  this  muddle,"  he  said  to  me  at  part- 
ing, and  there  was  no  need  to  name  the  man. 

He  told  Louis  XV  so  on  his  return  to  France.  A 
memorial  was  presented  through  the  Ministry  of 
the  Marine,  which  stated  emphatically, 

"If  it  is  desired  to  save  the  country,  which  is  in 
the  greatest  danger,  it  is  indispensably  necessary 
to  send  back  the  Sieurs  de  Bienville  and  Chateau- 
gaay." 

"Why  were  these  indispensable  men  ever  dis- 
placed?" asked  the  King;  and  no  one  could  answer 
the  question,  for  not  a  shadow  of  an  accusation 
against  them  had  ever  been  proved. 

D'Artaguette  was  commanded  to  find  Bienville 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  321 

at  once,  and  the  search  was  not  a  difficult  one. 
The  Cadillacs  had  established  themselves  in  a  fine 
old  mansion  in  the  St.  Germain  quarter.  The  long 
windows  of  the  salon  opened  upon  a  little  parterre, 
or  formal  garden,  where  fruit  trees  were  trained 
like  vines  against  the  walls,  and  where  a  tiny 
fountain  leapt  intermittently  from  a  shell  held  by 
a  moss-clothed  Triton. 

Up  and  down  the  box-bordered  walks  of  this 
court  a  diminutive  African  persistently  trundled 
the  wheeled  chair  of  ex-Governor  Cadillac. 

Neighbors  who  took  a  friendly  interest  in  the 
paralytic,  and  in  the  pale  woman  who  patiently 
walked  by  his  side,  noted  a  devoted  visitor,  a  gray- 
haired,  soldierly-appearing  man,  who  called  each 
afternoon,  walking  for  an  hour  beside  the  two,  and 
then  ceremoniously  took  his  departure. 

"  One  of  the  staff  of  the  old  General,"  they  de- 
cided. Every  one  had  agreed  that  the  invalid  was 
a  general,  for  in  spite  of  his  infirmity,  he  had  the 
domineering  manner  which  proclaimed  the  man  ac- 
customed to  command. 

With  his  grand  airs  Cadillac  had  abated  none  of 
his  self-complacency,  for  at  first  news  of  Law's 
failure  something  had  snapped  in  his  brain,  and  he 
awoke  the  next  morning  serenely  forgetful  of  his 
loss.  It  was  a  merciful  deprivation,  for  he  believed 


322  MARGARITA. 

himself  rich  beyond  all  possibility  of  expenditure, 
and  he  amused  himself  by  ordering  engraved  gems 
and  costly  trinkets,  which  his  daughter  promptly 
returned,  having  made  an  arrangement  with  Colin 
to  humor  him  by  sending  them  for  inspection. 

So  Bienville  found  them  on  his  first  call.  "  I  am 
your  neighbor,"  he  explained,  for  Cadillac  did  not  re- 
member him,  though  his  face  was  evidently  vaguely 
familiar.  "  I  knew  you  in  Canada,  Monsieur."  and 
the  old  warrior's  eyes  brightened,  for  every  de- 
tail of  that  earlier  life  was  clear  in  his  mind,  and 
he  took  keen  pleasure  in  talking  of  his  best  work, 
the  founding  of  Detroit 

"  France  owes  you  -much  for  that,  Monsio 
Bienville  said  with  honest  admiration. 

"France  never  repays  such  debts,"  Cadillac  re- 
plied. "If  you  live  long  enough,  young  man,  \mi 
will  learn  that  the  consciousness  of  having  done 
something  really  worth  the  while  is  the  only  reward 
you  will  ever  receive,  and  that  it  is  quite  snili 
cient ." 

At  other  times  he  re-livrd  with  keen  delight  the 
wilder  adventures  of  Michilimackinac  and  the 
dinner  at  Quebec,  when  a  hot  tempered  young  man, 
he  had  pummelled  a  brother  officer  with  a  heavy 
candelabra,  scattering  the  burning  candles  among 
the  alarmed  guests. 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  323 

"I  expected  to  be  cashiered  for  that,"  he 
chuckled,  "but  Frontenac  said  that  a  man  who 
avenged  his  own  insults  so  promptly  could  be 
trusted  with  the  honor  of  France." 

Once  only  he  spoke  of  his  early  wedded  life  on 
the  island  of  Mount  Desert  which  had  been  granted 
him  as  a  seigneury,  where  his  daughter  had  been 
born,  a  home  from  which  he  had  been  driven  by 
I  'hips  at  the  time  of  his  marauding  expedition  to 
Port  Koyal. 

"  I  thought  my  life  was  crushed  then,"  he  said, 
"  but  that  misfortune  sent  me  up  the  Lakes  and  was 
the  beginning  of  my  career.  That  is  the  way 
things  go,  Monsieur.  We  lose  a  little  thing  on 
which  we  set  our  hearts  and  we  gain  something  of 
which  we  had  no  conception." 

All  of  the  annoyances,  mistakes  and  bitter 
disappointments  of  Louisiana  had  faded  from 
his  mind,  with  the  exception  of  one  circum- 
stance. 

He  remembered  that  he  had  a  grudge  against  a 
former  lover  of  his  daughter's  named  Bienville,  and 
that  nothing  would  induce  him  to  consent  to  their 
marriage.  He  told  his  guest  so  very  frankly,  while 
Mademoiselle  listened,  smiling  pitifully. 

"  I  understand,"  Bienville  had  replied ;  "  we  will 
talk  no  more  of  that  fellow.  The  Western  Company 


:>>iM  MARGARITA. 

has  come  to  your  estimate  of  him ;  he  has  been  dis- 
graced and  broken." 

"What?"  asked  Cadillac.  "Recalled?  There, 
Rosalie,  you  mast  see  now  what  a  scoundrel  he 
was,"  and  neither  of  his  hearers  reminded  the  old 
man  that  he  had  suffered  a  similar  humiliation. 

Mademoiselle's  little  income  was  sufficient  for 
their  simple  life,  and  Bienville  supplemented  it 
without  her  knowledge  or  against  her  will  in  many 
ways.  Cadillac  complained  to  him  that  she  never 
wore  the  diamonds  which  he  had  purchased  for  her, 
and  at  his  next  visit  Bienville  placed  a  morocco 
case  within  her  hands.  "  You  will  wear  these 
every  evening,"  he  said,  "  to  please  your  father  and 
—me." 

Always  after  that  Cadillac  insisted  that  his 
daughter  should  appear  in  full  dress  and  that  bis 
guest  should  remain  until  the  dinner-tray  was 
brought  to  his  bedside  that  he  might  see  the 
candle-light  flashed  back  by  the  superb  dia- 
monds. 

It  was  so  that  d'Artaguette  found  them  when  be 
brought  Bienville's  vindication  and  reinstatement  in 
office,  lie  had  been  shown  into  the  room  by  the 
mistake  of  the  servant,  and  had  blurted  out  the 
great  news  abruptly. 

Cadillac's  face  grew  as  white  as  his  pillow. 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  325 

"  "Who  did  you  say  this  gentleman  is  ?  "  he  asked 
of  d'Artaguette. 

"Monsieur  Jean  Baptiste  Le  Moyne  de  Bien- 
ville,"  the  other  cried  gaily ;  "  once  more  by  the 
King's  grace,  Governor  of  Louisiana." 

There  was  a  cry  from  Mademoiselle,  for  her 
father  had  fallen  backward  in  a  second  apoplectic 
fit. 

A  surgeon  was  brought  who  bled  him,  but  it  was 
not  for  two  days  that  he  came  to  himself.  Then  it 
was  found  that  a  wonderful  thing  had  happened. 
His  memory,  which  had  been  partially  lost  in  the 
first  shock,  had  come  back  again  with  such  a  new 
access  of  good  sense  as  he  had  never  possessed  in 
his  best  days.  He  asked  for  Bienville  and  begged 
his  pardon  for  all  his  unreasonable  opposition, 
urged  his  immediate  marriage  with  his  daughter, 
and  was  altogether  of  so  clear  a  mind  and  so 
heavenly  a  disposition  that  both  Mademoiselle  and 
her  lover  feared  with  reason  that  his  last  hour  had 
come.  He  rallied  temporarily,  however,  long 
enough  to  make  it  impossible  for  Mademoiselle  to 
leave  him  and  to  go  to  America  with  Bienville,  and 
so  once  again  the  marriage  was  postponed — and 
Bienville  returned  to  us — alone. 

It  was  just  as  well ;  for  Louisiana  in  all  the  horror 
and  danger  of  a  great  Indian  war,  was  no  fit  place 


326  MARGARITA. 

for  any  woman.  Bienville  touched  at  San  Domingo 
on  his  way  out,  and  ransoming  Little  Sun  from 
slavery,  brought  him  back,  but  he  was  not  able  to 
gather  the  four  hundred  captives,  and  Little  Sun's 
return  had  no  effect  on  the  temper  of  his  tribe. 
He  had  always  been  friendly  to  Bienville,  and  on 
that  very  account,  when  sent  to  his  people  as  an  in- 
termediary, he  was  unable  to  effect  anything,  and 
may  have  been  killed  by  them,  for  we  never  heard 
of  him  again. 

The  task  set  Bienville  was  a  superhuman  one. 
The  lost  confidence  of  the  Natchez  could  not  be 
restored.  There  remained  nothing  to  do  but  to 
chastise  them  heavily,  to  compel  them  to  a  peace 
which  they  were  not  willing  to  grant.  The 
Natchez  had  been  the  keystone  in  the  arch  of 
Indian  tribes  by  which  we  were  surrounded,  .-mil 
the  entire  structure  now  threatened  to  fall  upon  us 
and  crush  us.  Bienville  was  involved  in  a  thousand 
complications  and  difficulties. 

The  Chickasaws  with  the  first  refugee  band  <>f 
Natchez  openly  declared  war.  The  second  band 
was  inciting  the  Illinois  to  join  them.  The  Choc- 
taws  were  sulking  and  not  to  be  relied  upon ;  the 
Indians  of  the  Texas  plains  were  on  the  war-pat  h. 
Our  little  army  was  without  supplies  or  means  of 
transportation.  The  English  were  inciting  and 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  327 

aiding  our  foes  and  the  Spaniards  might  take  a 
hand  at  any  moment. 

The  campaign  began  by  an  incursion  of  the 
Chickasaw  country,  where  we  sustained  a  bloody 
defeat,  retreating  with  our  wounded  to  Mobile. 
Almost  all  the  officers  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
men  were  either  killed  or  wounded.  But  there 
was  worse  news  to  come.  Young  Captain  d'Artag- 
uette,  a  brother  of  Diron's,  who  had  marched  with 
a  hundred  and  forty  French  and  twice  as  many 
Indians  from  Tonty's  Rock  to  effect  a  junction 
with  us,  was  surrounded  by  the  Chickasaws,  and 
massacred. 

Only  a  few  who  had  been  left  behind  as  a  bag- 
gage guard  and  such  of  the  Indians  as  ran  away 
escaped. 

Of  the  rest,  nineteen  were  taken  alive,  from 
whom  two  were  reserved  as  exchanges,  and  the  rest, 
the  gallant  d'Artaguette  among  them,  were  burned 
alive. 

With  this  terrible  keynote  the  war  began  and 
was  continued  for  four  years.  Seven  hundred 
soldiers  were  sent  out  from  France,  but  arrived 
scurvy  smitten,  half  of  them  a  charge  instead  of  a 
help.  Bienville's  older  brother,  the  Sieur  de 
Longueuil,  arrived  from  Canada  by  way  of  the 
Illinois,  with  three  hundred  Indians  and  a  company 


328  XASQA&ITA. 

of  ronreurs  de  boi*.  I  collected  the  Natchitoches, 
and  Bienvillc,  by  many  harangues  and  presents, 
cajoled  the  Choctaws  into  attempting  a  second 
campaign.  Any  one  who  has  engaged  in  Indian 
warfare,  knows  how  unsatisfactory  are  even  its 
victories,  but  Bienville  pursued  the  war  with  a 
dogged  obstinacy,  a  determination  to  conquer  at  no 
matter  what  expense,  against  which  all  the  Indians 
of  the  continent  could  not  have  held  out. 

But  the  old  enthusiastic  belief  that  happiness 
would  finally  crown  his  efforts  was  ebbing.  A 
foreboding  darkened  his  spirit,  and  he  was  by  turns 
feverishly  impatient  and  profoundly  depressed. 

Cadillac  had  passed  away,  he  told  me,  and 
Mademoiselle  was  waiting  for  him  to  finish  his 
task.  She  wrote  encouragingly,  bravely,  of  how 
more  than  satisfied,  how  proud  she  was  of  his  heroic 
efforts  for  the  colony.  "  Finish  your  work  thor- 
oughly," she  begged.  "  Do  not  leave  Louisiana  until 
you  have  secured  a  lasting  peace.  We  have  waited 
so  long  we  can  well  be  patient  for  a  little  while.  I 
am  so  happy  that  my  dear  father  recognized  hi* 
mistake  and  your  worth  and  gave  us  his  blessing 
ere  he  went.  I  thank  God  for  your  faithful  love, 
which  kept  my  heart  alive  with  hope  and  enables 
me  to  bear  our  weary  separation.  Our  lives  have 
been  rich  beyond  all  measure,  for  we  have  really 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  329 

had  each  other  through  it  all.  Never  have  we  been 
parted  by  the  slightest  shadow,  and  we  never  will 
be  even  when  the  great  shadow  falls  between  us." 

She  seemed  to  fear  after  that  paragraph  that  she 
had  been  too  grave,  for  she  quoted  some  sprightly 
remarks  of  the  Princess  of  Conti,  and  begged  him 
when  he  came  back  to  France  to  bring  Picard  with 
him  for  he  was  such  a  merry  fellow,  and  his  violin 
playing  had  always  been  a  refreshment  and  a  com- 
fort to  Bienville. 

"  Look  you,"  he  said,  as  he  showed  me  these  pas- 
sages in  her  letter.  "  She  is  ill,  she  is  depressed, 
or  she  would  not  write  as  she  does.  I  can  read 
between  the  lines.  There  is  not  one  word  of  hope 
for  our  marriage,  only  thankfulness  for  What  we 
have  been  to  each  other.  She  asks  me  to  take 
Picard  back  with  me,  not  because  she  enjoys  his 
music,  but  that  he  may  be  a  comfort  to  me.  Does 
she  foresee,  then,  that  I  shall  need  comfort  ?  What 
does  she  mean  by  the  great  shadow  ?  " 

But,  though  his  hope  failed,  his  courage  and  per- 
sistency never  did. 

Victory  must  needs  come  to  such  spirits.  It  is  a 
foregone  conclusion — and  so  the  Chickasaws  were 
beaten  at  last  and  agreed  to  Bienville's  conditions, 
even  to  the  giving  up  of  the  Natchez  refugees. 
But  when  the  time  came  for  the  delivery  of  these 


330  MARGARITA. 

prisoners,  though  they  had  been  bound  and 
guarded,  they  most  mysteriously  disappeared. 
When  I  reported  this  to  Bienville  he  replied,  "  I 
am  glad  of  it.  I  am  sick  of  carna^<\  I  had  not 
the  heart  to  put  them  to  death." 

They  had  fled  far  to  the  west,  and  their  once 
pleasant  country  where  they  had  lived  in  such 
friendship  with  us,  saw  them  no  more.  Four  Eng- 
lish prisoners  the  Chickasaws  delivered  up  to  us, 
throwing  upon  them  the  blame  of  all  the  war. 

One  of  these,  I  need  not  tell  you,  was  asquint 
blackguard,  called  James  Hiems.  They  were  all 
four  sent  to  France  in  irons ;  but  before  they  went 
I  had  the  ex-pirate  searched.  The  opal  was  not 
upon  his  person,  and  he  boasted  so  triumphantly 
that  it  was  in  the  possession  of  the  English  that  I 
could  but  believe  him. 

"  My  countrymen  will  drive  you  out  finally,"  he 
assiTtrd.  4*  You  and  tin*  Spanish  and  the  Indians 
too,  and  the  Great  River  will  be  ours  without  any 
marriage  with  that  old  Natchez  squaw  who  was 
fool  enough  to  drown  herself  in  its  waters." 

This  was  the  first  intimation  that  we  received  of 
Weenonah's  death.  We  learned  later  that  English 
Jem  had  persisted  in  demanding  her  as  bis  wife, 
and  that  Stinging  Serpent  had  supported  his  claim, 
maintaining  that  the  Great  River  called  for  the 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  331 

death  of  those  who  refused  to  obey  the  behest  of 
the  gods,  as  manifested  by  the  token  of  the  fire- 
opal.  It  had  been  offered  to  the  Spanish  through 
De  Soto,  to  the  French  twice  through  La  Salle  and 
Tonty,  and  they  had  paid  the  penalty  of  their  diso- 
bedience. If  Weenonah  refused  the  husband  whom 
the  fates  sent,  she  also  must  die.  She  had  fled  to 
the  Illinois  with  some  wild  hope,  that  as  Tonty's 
widow,  she  would  be  received  and  protected  on  his 
Eock ;  but  she  had  been  tracked  and  followed  by 
Stinging  Serpent  and  Hiems,  and  their  followers. 
The  Mississippi  was  before  her  when  their  shouts 
rang  in  her  ears,  and  from  a  cliff  still  called  the 
Maiden's  Rock,  she  accepted  the  alternative  which 
it  offered  and  sprang  to  her  death  as  to  a  refuge. 

The  Indian  war  had  lasted  eight  years.  It  had 
drained  the  colony  of  its  crops,  its  live  stock,  and 
its  best  blood.  A  sagacious  head  was  more  than 
ever  needed  to  encourage  a  return  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  ground,  and  other  peaceful  vocations, 
and  put  Louisiana  again  upon  her  feet. 

Through  the  last  four  years  Bienville's  depression 
had  deepened.  But  for  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac's 
encouraging  letters  which  came  regularly  by  every 
ship  from  France,  he  could  never  have  kept  his 
hand  steadily  on  the  helm.  Now  that  peace  had 
come  he  could  bear  the  separation  no  longer,  and 


332  MARGARITA. 

he  wrote  the  Ministry  of  the  Marine,  begging  per- 
mission to  resign  his  position  and  to  return  to 
France.  It  was  not  like  him  to  leave  the  country 
in  this  disorganized  condition,  and  so  he  had  asked 
that  his  resignation  should  take  effect  in  two  years, 
during  which  time  he  would  busy  himself  in  making 
the  task  of  his  successor  an  easy  one. 

But  he  grudged  even  these  two  years  of  delay, 
and  since  he  could  not  absent  himself  he  begged 
Mademoiselle  to  come  out  to  him,  with  Chateau- 
guay,  who  was  then  in  France  and  had  directions  to 
escort  her  to  Louisiana. 

Chateauguay  returned  without  her.  He  had 
found  the  apartment  formerly  occupied  by  the  Cad- 
illacs tenantless.  Neither  the  landlord  nor  any  of 
the  neighbors  could  give  him  news  of  Mademoi- 
selle. 

Bienville  shook  like  a  man  with  the  palsy.  "  My 
God,  is  she  dead  ?  "  he  cried,  and  his  brother  could 
not  answer. 

But  the  same  ship  on  which  Chateauguay  bad  re- 
turned brought  one  of  her  cheerful,  loving  letters, 
and  by  a  strange  coincidence,  she  bade  him,  when 
he  returned  to  France  to  ask  for  her  of  the  Princess 
of  Conti,  as  she  had  decided  on  changing  her  resi- 
dence. 

Bienville  brightened  at  once.     "  Dolt  that  I  was," 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  333 

he  said,  "  not  to  bid  you  go  to  the  Princess.  You 
might  have  remembered  that  they  were  friends. 
She  must  have  moved  immediately  after  writing 
this  letter.  It  is  beyond  all  endurance ! " 

Still  Bienville  endured,  living  on  hope ;  but  Cha- 
teauguay  crossed  himself  when  Mademoiselle's  next 
letter  arrived,  and  taking  me  aside  delivered  his 
mind  and  conscience. 

"  There  is  something  uncanny  in  this,"  he  said, 
"  for  Mademoiselle  de  Cadillac  died  four  years  ago. 
Of  course  you  say  it  is  impossible,  but  it  is  true  all 
the  same.  The  concierge  told  me  so,  and  I  found 
the  registry  of  her  death.  When  I  saw  how  hard 
he  would  take  it,  I  could  not  bear  to  tell  him." 

"But  her  letters?" 

"  Ah !  yes,  the  letters.  No  wonder  they  did  not 
indicate  her  dwelling-place.  It  is  my  opinion  that 
they  are  sent  from  heaven.  It  is  ill-meddling  with 
miracles  and  I  shall  not  anger  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
by  interfering  with  their  business." 

So  no  one  told  Bienville,  and  the  letters  which 
were  such  a  comfort  to  him,  kept  coming  for  two 
years  longer  until  his  work  was  done  and  he  went 
back  to  France. 

Then  in  the  keeping  of  the  Princess  of  Conti,  he 
found  another  letter  in  which  Mademoiselle  con- 
fessed her  innocent  deceit.  She  had  known  shortly 


334  M  A  HO  A  I:  IT  A. 

after  he  left  France  that  she  must  die.  She  had 
battled  bravely  for  life  for  his  sake,  and  when  she 
understood  that  she  had  failed  and  that  the  end 
must  be  one  of  slow  agony,  she  had  thanked  God 
that  he  would  not  see  her  suffer. 

She  knew  what  her  letters  were  to  him,  and  while 
her  strength  lasted,  she  had  written  eighty  of  them, 
to  be  sent  at  stated  intervals  by  the  Princess  of 
Conti,  all  cheerful  and  varied,  suited  to  the  seasons 
in  which  they  were  dated,  filled  with  merry  trifles, 
poetic  thoughts,  sweet  confidences,  interest  in  his 
occupations,  his  aims,  the  old  friends  in  Louisiana, 
and  ever  praising  Providence  for  the  blessing  of  his 
love,  and  the  hope  of  their  reunion.  "  Very  soon 
now,  dear,  at  latest  And  what  does  it  matter  if 
it  is  not  until  a  little  while  longer  and  in  that  coun- 
try where  there  is  no  more  sea,  and  Ood  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears.99 

What  is  there  more  to  tell  ?  Our  own  lives  seem 
so  poor  and  selfish  compared  with  the  heroism  of 
our  two  friends.  But  there,  I  will  not  disparage 
my  Margarita  to  exalt  any  woman,  not  even  Mad- 
emoiselle. 

All  love  is  of  God,  when  it  is  of  the  right  kind, 
(for  there  is  a  something  else,  which  is  called  love, 
which  is  of  the  devil).  And  there  are  many  kinds 
of  love  as  of  people.  Margarita  is  a  heroine  too, 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  335 

but  of  a  more  human  cast.  She  has  stood  by  me  in 
many  an  evil  hour,  making  a  man  of  me,  when  I 
might  have  been  a  recreant,  saving  me  from  myself 
as  any  true  woman  can  the  man  who  loves  her. 
But  she  has  stood  with  me  shoulder  to  shoulder,  so 
that  I  have  not  had  to  look  to  a  distant  heaven  for 
my  recompense,  but  have  had  it  all  along. 

I  am  an  old  man  now,  for  I  write  these  closing 
lines  in  the  year  1770.  I  have  seen  strange  vicissi- 
tudes in  my  life,  but  none  so  incredible  as  in  1764, 
when  word  was  brought  us  that  our  pig  of  a  King, 
Louis  XV,  being  in  need  of  money  for  his  pleasures, 
had  sold  that  portion  of  Louisiana  which  lay  on  the 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  English,  and  New 
Orleans  and  the  western  country  to  Spain. 

We  Frenchmen,  who  had  given  our  lives  to  es- 
tablish France  in  the  new  world,  could  not  be- 
lieve it. 

We  sent  a  deputation  to  Paris  to  find  Bienville, 
and  to  beg  him  to  lay  our  petition  not  to  be  given 
up  to  our  enemies  before  the  King.  Bienville  had 
lived  in  retirement  ever  since  his  return  to  France ; 
he  was  then  eighty-six  years  old,  but  he  went  to 
Versailles  and  presented  the  petition  to  the  Minis- 
ter, the  Due  de  Choiseul.  No  answer  of  any  kind 
was  ever  vouchsafed  us. 

Some  hot  headed  French  settlers,  still  loyal  to 


336  MARGARITA* 

France,  resisted  the  landing  of  the  Spaniards.  They 
were  led  by  young  Jean  Baptiste  Bienville  de 
Noyau,  namesake  and  grand  nephew  of  my  old 
friend,  betrothed  to  my  second  daughter.  He  and 
five  of  the  most  prominent  of  his  followers  were 
publicly  executed,  while  others  were  sent  prisoners 
for  life  to  Cuba.  I  was  so  sentenced,  for  I  had 
taken  down  my  sword  and  followed  the  lads,  but 
Margarita,  through  her  Spanish  connection,  secured 
my  pardon,  on  account  of  my  gray  hairs  and  "  fail 
ing  intellect ! " 

Her  father,  Don  Raimon  di  Villesco,  had  fallen 
long  since  in  an  Indian  mid,  but  Dona  Villesco, 
now  in  her  ninety-fourth  year,  was  united  to  us  by 
this  event  I  think  I  never  could  have  borne  it,  if 
Fra  Luis  had  marched  in  with  our  masters,  l>ut 
they  told  us  that  he  had  died  after  a  devoted  life 
in  one  of  the  distant  California  missions,  where  his 
tomb  and  his  memory  are  cherished  by  the  fathers. 

Bienville's  death  was  doubtless  hastened  by  this 
most  disgraceful  and  disastrous  turn  of  events.  1 1  •• 
had  been  living  quietly  in  the  old  apartment  of  the 
Cadillacs,  with  Picard  as  his  devoted  companion,  as 
Mademoiselle  had  suggested.  He  was  a  beneficence 
to  all  his  nieces  and  nephews;  for  the  boys  he 
secured  commissions,  to  the  girls  he  gave  marriage 
portions,  and  breaking  up  the  superb  parure  which 


OLD  FLAGS  FURLED.  337 

he  had  presented  his  betrothed,  he  gave  a  diamond, 
in  memory  of  Mademoiselle,  to  each  of  these  young 
people.  Picard,  and  all  of  his  household,  were 
most  liberally  remembered  in  his  will.  My  daughter 
Kosalie  wears  her  diamond  with  great  delight,  but 
to  me  it  seems  a  glistening  tear  fallen  for  the  fate 
of  two  hapless  lovers. 

What  is  to  be  the  future  of  this  great  country  ? 

I  shall  not  live  to  see,  but  this  I  know,  that  the 
lion  and  castle  flag  will  be  furled  as  was  the  fleur- 
de-lys,  that  somehow,  some  time  the  English  will 
be  the  masters  of  the  Great  River. 

How  do  I  know  this  ?  Because,  my  grandson, 
St.  Denis  de  Boisbriant,  whose  imagination  had 
been  fired  by  the  legend  of  the  talisman  of  the 
Natchez,  came  back  from  our  defeat  at  Fort  Du- 
quesne  to  tell  us  that  the  English  are  sweeping  in 
upon  us  in  a  flood  as  irresistible  as  an  inundation  of 
the  ocean.  He  talked  with  one  of  their  officers 
who  told  him  that  some  twenty  odd  years  since, 
while  surveying  lands  in  the  wilderness  for  Lord 
Fairfax,  he  came  into  possession,  in  what  manner 
he  did  not  state,  of  a  fire-opal  of  wonderful  beauty, 
and  that  all  the  Indians  to  whom  he  had  shown  it 
assured  him  that  it  was  the  key  to  the  Great 
River. 

My  grandson  added   that  the  young  man  im- 


338  MARGARITA. 

pressed  him  as  of  such  determination  of  character 
that  he  hardly  seemed  to  need  magical  aid  in  the 
carrying  out  of  any  enterprise.  I  have  made  my 
grandson  scratch  the  name  on  my  powder  horn 
that  I  may  not  forget  it ;  I  have  heard  it  since,  I 
doubt  not  I  shall  again,  for  it  sounds  bravely  in 
the  utterance.  It  is : 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


KN1>. 


NOTES. 


NOTE  TO  CHAPTER  II 

1  IT  was  indeed  a  remarkable  family.  Of  the  twelve  brothers, 
nine  are  illustrious  in  history  for  their  services  to  their  country. 
Three  were  killed  in  battle,  and  three  were  governors  of  cities  or 
provinces.  There  were  also  two  sisters,  each  of  whom  married 
men  of  noble  family,  captains  in  the  army  and  chevaliers  of  St. 
Louis. 

The  patent  of  nobility  which  Louis  XIV  granted  to  the  oldest 
brother  was  given  in  recognition  of  the  accumulation  of  distin- 
guished services  of  six  of  the  brothers  who  are  mentioned  by 
name,  but  it  was  for  one  of  the  cadets,  Jean  Baptiste  second  sieur 
(after  the  death  of  an  older  brother)  de  Bienville,  the  hero  of  this 
story,  to  eclipse  his  older  brothers  by  a  longer  record  of  arduous 
and  illustrious  service.  The  patent  reads  in  part  as  follows: 

"  Louis,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and  of  Navarre. 
.  .  .  It  being  an  attribute  of  our  greatness  to  reward  those 
whose  courage  led  them  to  perform  great  deeds,  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  services  of  the  late  Charles  Le  Moyne,  so  often 
conspicuous  in  wars  against  the  Iroquois ;  that  after  him  Charles 
Le  Moyne  de  Longueuil,  his  eldest  son,  bore  arms  in  France  and 
in  Canada,  where  he  had  an  arm  shot  off  by  the  Iroquois,  in  which 
combat  seven  of  his  brothers  were  also  engaged  : — that  Jacques  Le 
Moyne  de  St.  Hel&ne,  his  brother,  for  gallantry  was  made  Cap- 
tain and  afterwards  fell  at  the  siege  of  Quebec,  in  1690,  lead  ing  the 
Canadians  against  Phips,  when  his  brother  was  also  wounded; 
that  another  brother  Pierre  Le  Moyne  d'Iberville,  Captain  of  a 

339 


340  NOTES. 

sloop  of  war,  nerved  on  land  and  sea,  and  captnml  Rod  *  "Hani, 
in  the  Hudson's  Bay,  and  still  commands  a  frigate;  that  Joseph  Le 
Moyne  (first  sieor)  de  Bienville,  was  commissioned  ensign  in  the 
Navy,  and  killed  by  the  Iroqnois  at  Repentigny ;  that  Louis  (first 
rieur)  de  Chateanguay,  also  fell  in  the  taking  of  Fort  Bourbon  in 
the  Hudson's  Bay;  thai  Paul  Le  Moyne  de  Marioourt  is  Captain, 
acting  as  ensign  to  his  brother  d 'I berville;  that,  carrying  out  our 
intentions,  Charles  Le  Moyne  de  Longueuil  has  spent  large  sums  in 
establishing  habitants  on  his  domain  of  Longueuil,  extending  two 
leagues  on  the  Si.  Lawrence,  and  three  leagues  deep,  held  for  us 
with  Aairff,  mofffiJi*  4  ta^  >rfi<*,  where,  in  order  to  protect  tin-  in- 
habitants, he  has  erected  at  his  own  cost  a  fort  supported  by  four 
strong  towers  in  stone  masonry,  with  a  courtyard  containing  a 
guard-house  and  dwellings,  a  flue  church,  bearing  all  the  insignia 
of  nobility,  a  barn,  stable,  sheep-pen,  dove-cot,  eta,  a  mill,  and  a 
fine  brewery,  together  with  *  Urge  retinue  of  servants,  hones  and 
equipages,  at  a  cost  amounting  to  sixty  thousand  Urns,  so  that 
thisseigneory  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  the  whole  country  and 
the  only  one  built  and  fortified  in  this  way.  For  which 

considerations  we  have  assigned  not  only  a  title  of  honor  on  the 
seigneuryof  Longueuil,  but  also  conferred  on  its  owner  a  distinc- 
tion which  shall  pass  to  posterity,  and  we  do  erect  the  said  domain 
of  Longueuil  into  the  dignity  of  a  barony  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  said 
Charles  Le  Moyne,  his  children  and  his  heirs  together  with  the  title 
of  Baron.  It  is  our  pleasure  that  he  shall  enjoy  the  prerogatives, 
rank,  etc.,  of  this  title  in  all  meetings  of  the  nobility,  like  other 
barons  of  our  Kingdom. 

14  Done  at  Versailles  this  27th  day  of  January,  1700,  and  the 
50th  year  of  our  reign. 

(Signed)  "Louis." 

None  TO  CHAPTER  THIRTEEN. 

'  IT  is  unfair  to  paint  even  a  gambler  blacker  than  he  is,  and 
there  is  no  proof  that  Law  ever  used  loaded  dice.  His  luck  in 
betting  on  the  throws  of  others  was,  however,  phenomenal. 

1  Miss  Grace  King  in  her  memoir  of  Bienville  gives  the  recall  of 
.Cadillac  and  the  curt  comment  of  his  superiors  upon  his  adminis- 
tration, and  was  couched  in  the  following  terms : 


NOTES.  341 

"  Messieurs  de  la  Motte  Cadillac,  and  Duclos,  who  have  char- 
acters incompatible,  without  having  the  intelligence  necessary  for 
their  functions,  are  hereby  dismissed  and  replaced." 


NOTE  TO  CHAPTER  FOURTEEN. 

4  THE  same  author  quotes  from  Bienville's  resignation,  showing 
his  lack  of  appreciation  of  his  own  magnificent  accomplishment : 

"  If  success  had  always  responded  to  my  application  to  the  affairs 
of  government,  and  to  my  zeal  for  the  service  of  the  King,  I  should 
v.illingly  have  consecrated  the  rest  of  my  days  to  him;  but  a 
tpecir*  of  fatality,  for  some  time  pursuing  and  thwarting  most  of 
my  best-concerted  plans,  has  often  made  me  lose  the  fruit  of  my 
labors.  I  have  not  thought  therefore,  that  I  should  strain  any 
longer  against  my  misfortune.  I  wish  that  the  officer  who  will  be 
chosen  to  succeed  me,  may  be  happier  than  1." 


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